Carried Interest Due from Investment Funds (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified			3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013 Investment Funds	Sep. 30, 2012 Investment Funds	Sep. 30, 2013 Investment Funds item	Sep. 30, 2012 Investment Funds
Activity in the carried interest
Balance at beginning of period	$ 58,134	$ 47,723	$ 55,322	$ 41,149	$ 47,723	$ 37,250
Carried Interest recognized during the period			2,812	3,355	10,411	7,254
Balance at end of period	$ 58,134	$ 47,723	$ 58,134	$ 44,504	$ 58,134	$ 44,504
Additional disclosures
Number of times when agreement will be extended					3
Agreement extensions term					1 year

Accumulated performance fees in the form of an allocation of earnings to the investment manager.

No definition available.

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Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Represents the term of extensions for the agreement on carried interest.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	pfsi_CarriedInterestAgreementExtensionsTerm
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- Details

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- Details

Name:	pfsi_CarriedInterestDueFromAffiliatesRollForward
Namespace Prefix:	pfsi_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Represents the number of times the agreement will be extended on carried interest.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	pfsi_CarriedInterestNumberOfTimesWhenAgreementWillBeExtended
Namespace Prefix:	pfsi_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of revenue earned by the entity based on the investment results achieved. Excludes fees based upon a percentage of the assets under management not performance-related.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 942

-SubTopic 225

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-04.13 (a))

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879574&loc=d3e536633-122882

+ Details

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Period Type:	duration