Pimco has introduced six new equity funds in collaboration with long-time subadvisor Research Affiliates LLC, the company said on Monday.

The new funds expand Pimco's RAE Fundamental lineup, which uses Research Affiliates' "smart beta," or "fundamental indexation," strategy of selecting, weighting and rebalancing holdings on the basis of characteristics other than market capitalization.

The new funds cover U.S. large, U.S. small, international, global, global ex-U.S. and emerging markets. The U.S. large category has the S&P 500 index as its benchmark, while the U.S. small category compares with the Russell 2000 index.

Pimco has collaborated with Robert Arnott's firm Research Affiliates for more than a decade. The latest funds are part of Pimco's enhanced equity strategies, which also include the firm's StocksPLUS and RAE Fundamental PLUS funds.

Pacific Investment Management Co and Research Affiliates are both based in Newport Beach, California. Pimco, a unit of Munich-based insurer Allianz SE, had $1.59 trillion in assets as of March 31. It has more than $50 billion of its assets in equity strategies.

The new funds come about a month after Pimco said global equities Chief Investment Officer Virginie Maisonneuve was leaving after less than 1-1/2 years and that it would liquidate two Pimco equity strategies: Emerging Markets, which Maisonneuve oversaw, and Pathfinder, which is managed by Anne Gudefin and involves purchasing stocks trading at significant discounts to intrinsic value.

"We are looking to continue to expand the equity platform, and specifically the enhanced equity platform," Sabrina Callin, Pimco managing director and equity product manager, said in an interview.

"In a low-return environment, in particular, which prospectively we're likely in, strategies that provide that broad diversified equity exposure that many investors find appealing, but also can out-perform the market will be, we believe, very valuable in helping investors meet their return objectives," Callin said.