Legendary bond fund manager, Bill Gross has announced his departure from PIMCO, the firm he founded in 1971, to join Janus Capital Group where he will manage a fixed income fund and related strategies. The 70-year-old Mr. Gross is widely viewed as one of the most influential bond investors of all time, having lead PIMCO’s growth into a $2 trillion bond powerhouse, led primarily by the $222 billion PIMCO Total Return fund he managed. This is a surprising end to the recent management drama that began at PIMCO this spring with the departure of co-CIO, Mohamed El-Erian.
North Pier’s Investment Committee is holding an emergency meeting this weekend to discuss its position relating to the effect on PIMCO Total Return. We view this as a significant event in our evaluation of the management of this fund. We will announce our full assessment of this news early next week.
