Mr. Balls is PIMCO's CIO Global Fixed Income. Based in the London office, he oversees the firm’s European, Asia-Pacific, emerging markets and global specialist investment teams. He manages a range of global portfolios and is a member of the Investment Committee. Previously, he was head of European portfolio management, a global portfolio manager in the Newport Beach office and the firm’s global strategist. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2006, he was an economics correspondent and columnist for the Financial Times in London, New York and Washington, DC. He has 24 years of investment and economics/financial markets experience and holds a bachelor's degree from Oxford and a master's degree from Harvard University. He was a lecturer in economics at Keble College, Oxford. Mr. Balls was nominated by Morningstar in 2013 for European Fixed-Income Fund Manager of the Year. He is a director of Room to Read, a nonprofit that promotes literacy and gender equality in education in low-income countries.