11-26-2025
Mary Kralis Hoppe, senior vice president at PIMCO, recently spoke to Executive Forum students in the Daniels School of Business about her firm’s work as a global leader in active fixed income with deep expertise across public and private markets. The firm manages $2.2 trillion in assets as of the end of September 2025, serving institutional investors, pension funds and wealth management clients alike. Hoppe described her role in US Global Wealth Management at PIMCO as a Private Wealth Director akin to a “specialist,” working closely with wealth financial advisors in regions like Boston to help advisors address their clients’ needs.
PIMCO’s expertise lies in bonds and fixed income, which have the potential to offer portfolio stability, especially important in times of market volatility and economic slowdown. With today’s volatile macroeconomic backdrop — characterized by slowing growth, rising tariffs and persistent inflation worries— Hoppe and her team are focused on educating advisors. In her talk, she highlighted the discussions that leaders at PIMCO are having about the slowing economy, policy uncertainty and tariff effects on growth and inflation.
“At PIMCO, we don’t say how things should happen. We’re paying attention to the data to see what changes, not what should change, and making our investment decisions around that,” says Hoppe.
She noted that tariffs, for now, have not directly led to spiking inflation as history might suggest, and that the Federal Reserve’s ongoing rate adjustments are guiding expectations toward a more “neutral” policy, where neither inflation nor recession dominate the outlook.
Financial advisors today face the challenge of clients sitting on large cash reserves, earning respectable yields for the moment, but risk missing long-term growth should rates continue to decline. Hoppe emphasized PIMCO’s role in identifying solutions — fixed income products that may offer attractive yields relative to cash, but with potentially lower volatility than stocks. Her consultative approach underlines that, for PIMCO, it’s not about selling products, but solving real client needs as stated by financial advisors in a rapidly changing economic environment.
Hoppe answered questions from Executive Forum instructor Dave Randich, a strategic management lecturer at the Daniels School, as well as students. Guest speakers come to campus each week to share their career insights and experiences with the class.
View and listen to Hoppe’s Executive Forum class:
The Daniels School’s Executive Forum is held in person on the West Lafayette campus and is open to the public, as seating permits. Follow the business school on LinkedIn to learn about upcoming Forum speakers and more.
