ING removes Pimco as subadvisor of bond funds totaling $3.7 bln-SEC

March 31 (Reuters) - Pacific Investment Management Co. has been removed as the subadvisor of two bond funds totaling $3.7 billion offered by ING U.S. Investment Management, though the decision by ING had been made late last year ahead of a management shakeup at Pimco, according to a regulatory filing with the SEC.

An ING spokeswoman told Reuters on Monday that the board of the ING Funds in October approved the merger of ING Pimco Total Return Bond Portfolio into the ING Intermediate Bond Portfolio. The merger closed on March 21, the spokeswoman added.

The board also approved in October a change to the subadvisor for ING PIMCO High Yield Portfolio as well as a change to its name and investment strategy, she said.

Effective Feb. 4, the portfolio was renamed ING High Yield Portfolio and has since been subadvised by ING Investment Management Co. LLC. The ING Intermediate Bond Portfolio will also be managed internally, the spokeswoman said.

"These actions were designed to consolidate overlapping ING Funds into those with similar or compatible investment strategies and were determined to be in the interest of shareholders by a majority of the Board after a review of several factors," the ING spokeswoman said.

(Reporting by Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Bernadette Baum)