Investors Pull $9.5 Billion From Pimco Total Return Fund in November

By Kirsten Grind 

Investors pulled $9.5 billion from Pacific Investment Management Co.'s flagship Total Return fund in November, a sharp drop from the previous two record-setting months of outflows, according to the company.

Assets in the Total Return fund sank to $162.8 billion from $170.9 billion at the end of October, as some investors worried about the state of the Newport Beach, Calif.-based money manager following the abrupt departure of co-founder and chief investment officer Bill Gross Sept. 26.

In September and October, investors pulled about $23.5 billion and $27.5 billion, respectively, according to Pimco. Mr. Gross left to run a smaller mutual fund at Janus Capital Group Inc.

Performance in the Total Return fund also has improved. The fund beat out 99% of similar bond funds in November, returning 0.99% compared with 0.71% for the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond index. That's the giant fund's best monthly performance since at least 2003, when fund research firm Morningstar Inc. began tallying.

The fund's "strong absolute and relative returns during the past two months are a testament to our investment process and the talent of our investment professionals," Pimco's group chief investment officer Dan Ivascyn said in a statement.

Write to Kirsten Grind at [e-mail]

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