SECURITIES

Pimco and Thomson Confirm Merger: Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Co. and Thomson Advisory Group made it official, announcing they will merge Pacific Mutual’s huge investment management business (Pimco) with Thomson to create a $70-billion organization. The deal, first rumored a week ago, will provide Newport Beach-based Pimco with a new platform from which to launch mutual funds for small investors--a lucrative market that Pimco has served in only limited ways until now. Most of Pimco’s business is institutional, while Stamford, Conn.-based Thomson offers nine mutual funds aimed at small investors.