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William Gross appears to have jumped before he could be
pushed out at Pimco , the big money management firm he
helped build from scratch .
The decision by Mr. Gross , who has been called the " Bond King"
to quit the firm he founded and join Janus Capital comes after weeks of
behind-the-scenes discussions to replace him .
Mr Gross , 70 , announced his resignation at the same time
as an announcement by Janus that he was joining that firm .
The surprising departure comes after months of questions
about his leadership style and his funds' performance as investors pulled
out money from Pimco .
At Janus , Mr Gross will manage the recently started
Janus Unconstrained Bond Fund , and will join Myron Scholes and other
members of the Janus team focused on global asset allocation . He will be based
in Newport Beach , Calif., where Pimco also has its headquarters...
In a statement , Mr. Gross said he looked forward to refocusing his
attention to the markets and investing , " giving up many of the complexities
that go with managing a large , complicated organization ."
Mr. Gross's sudden departure would appear to leave a gaping void at the
helm of Pimco , one of the world's largest money managers , which has $2
trillion in assets under management .
Earlier this year , Mohamed El-Erian , who most people in Wall Street had
seen as the man most likely to succeed Mr.Gross , announced his own surprising
departure .
Both Mr.El-Erian and Mr. Gross were not only the top stewards of Pimco ,
they were also the firm's most public faces , frequently appearing on
television to talk about the economy , the Federal Reserve , interest rates and
of course the bond market .
It has been a tough year for Mr.Gross . The $222 billion Total Return Fund
that Mr. Gross personally managed has underperformed many of its peers this year
, and over the past 16 months investors have withdrawn a total of 69 billion ,
according to Morningstar .
The news of the S.E.C. investigation into potential mispricing of assets in
the Pimco E.T.F., or exchange-yraded fund , was the latest negative headline
.
At Pimco , public clashes between Mr. Gross and any employee or executive
were rare . He preferred a quiet trading floor and was displeased if employees
were not at their desks before the break of dawn in California to prepare for
market openings in New York .
In recent years , Mr. Gross's Total Return Fund has drawn some criticism
for its reliance on derivatives like futures and credit default swaps to get
exposure to bonds . Historically the fund has used derivatives to get access to
certain bonds largely because its mammoth size makes direct purchases
complicated. But some people in Wall Street have said the use of derivatives
could pose future risks , pointing out that the instruments could also bolster
the fund's performance by not having to tie up so much cash in any one sector ,
something Mr. Gross has long disputed .
Still it is hard to argue with Mr. Gross's long-term track record .
Over the past 10 years , his fund has returned 6% annually , besting the
Barclay's U.S. Aggregate Bond Index comparable 1.4% yearly gain in the same time
period .
It is that performance , coupled with his frequent television appearances ,
that had earned Mr. Gross the unofficial title of
"BOND KING " on Wall Street....
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