Bill Gross, nicknamed "The Bond King," announced Monday he would retire from Janus Henderson to focus on charitable work and managing his personal assets. Gross, 74, helped found PIMCO in 1971 and rose to prominence as one of the most successful fixed-income investors, before joining Janus Capital in 2014 following an acrimonious exit from PIMCO earlier that year.
"I've had a wonderful ride for over 40 years in my career - trying at all times to put client interests first while inventing and reinventing active bond management along the way," Gross said.
He said he plans to focus on a family foundation he started with his children. His arrival at Janus attracted additional funds to the firm, but his investment vehicle, the Global Unconstrained Bond Fund, lost 3.7 percent in 2018. Gross' departure from PIMCO came amid reports he was about to be fired due to his increasingly erratic behavior, including what media reports described as an expletive-filled argument with Mohamed El-Erian, his high-profile investing partner.
El-Erian subsequently left the firm, and currently is chief economic adviser at Allianz, PIMCO's parent company. Gross' departure was followed by an exodus of investment managers at PIMCO and a drop in overall assets under management. It also led to a colorful lawsuit in 2015 in which the veteran fund manager alleged his firing was engineered by a "cabal" that was "driven by a lust for power, greed, and a desire to improve their own financial position."
The two sides settled in 2017. Terms of the settlement were not released, but a person familiar with the matter said PIMCO agreed to pay $81 million. PIMCO also agreed to establish a new "Founders Room" at its California headquarters dedicated to Gross and other key founders and leaders of the firm. The William, Jeff and Jennifer Gross Family Foundation donated $21.45 million to 28 non-profits in 2018, including Doctors Without Borders and the Children's Hospital of Orange County.
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