One of Louis Bacon's key lieutenants has signed on to join PIMCO

PIMCO has just made two big hires in its London office.

The Newport Beach-based asset manager has hired Gene Frieda as its executive vice-president and global strategist, according to a press release.

Frieda previously worked at billionaire Louis Bacon's Moore Capital Management in London, where he was a partner and senior macro stategist.

He was also the primary macro strategist for Bacon, the firm's founder. In his new role at PIMCO, he will report to Andrew Balls, chief investment officer, global fixed income.

PIMCO also hired Yacov Arnopolin as executive vice-president and emerging markets portfolio manager. Arnopolin was previously a managing director and portfolio manager at Goldman Sachs Asset Management in New York, where he helped manage portfolios for pensions, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds, according to a press release.

"As the adverse global backdrop of lower commodity prices and a stronger dollar give way to a more constructive picture for emerging markets, now is an exciting time to be adding two such talented investment professionals as Gene and Yacov to the PIMCO team," Balls said in a statement.

The hires come weeks after PIMCO announced it was cutting 68 jobs, or about 3% of its workforce, as investors' preferences for different investment products changes.

PIMCO says it has made hires that offset those losses, however, hiring more than 130 new empoloyees, including 14 portfolio managers, according to the press statement.