Investors pulled nearly $11 million from the PIMCO Total Return ETF (NYSEArca: BOND), the actively managed ETF formerly managed by Bill Gross, the day before Gross shook the bond world by announcing his departure from the firm he founded.
Investors pulled $10.9 million from BOND last Thursday, bring the ETF’s year-to-date outflow total to $81.9 million, reports Cordell Eddings for Bloomberg.
On Friday, it was revealed that Gross, formerly a PIMCO managing director and chief investment, is leaving the firm to join Janus Capital (NYSE: JNS). Gross’ departure from California-based PIMCO comes just days after it was revealed that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating pricing practices at BOND, the second-largest U.S. actively managed ETF behind its family member, the PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity ETF (NYSEArca: MINT). [BOND Steady Despite Gross Exit]
Gross “will manage a recently launched Janus Global Unconstrained Bond Fund and related strategies, and will join Myron Scholes, Ph.D., and other members of the Janus team focused on global asset allocation,” according to a statement issued by Denver-based Janus.
BOND had taken in over $150 million in the third quarter prior to Sept. 25. BOND, which debuted in late February 2012, finished Friday with $3.56 billion in assets under management, according to PIMCO data.
Although the Total Return Mutual Fund, BOND’s mutual fund counterpart, has seen 16 consecutive months of outflows with Gross at the helm, industry observers have already opined that Gross’ departure from PIMCO to Janus will stoke tens of billions of dollars (or more) of outflows from the California bond house. Some analysts have pointed to Jeffrey Gundlach’s departure from TCW as a “template” of sorts, noting that Gundlach’s DoubleLine Capital has grown to $50 billion in assets as some investors followed him from TCW.