(Bloomberg) -- Mohamed El-Erian, who quit Pacific Investment Management in January amid reports of clashes with Bill Gross, said he was surprised by the events surrounding the departure of the star bond manager last week.
“His departure -- the fact that it happened and how it happened -- was a surprise,” El-Erian, 56, said today in an interview with Betty Liu on Bloomberg Television. “What was not a surprise was the bench and a strong team led by Dan Ivascyn. They are superb,” said the former chief executive officer and co-chief investment officer of Newport Beach, California-based Pimco.
Pimco last week named 45-year-old Ivascyn, a top-ranked money manager, as CIO as it seeks to revive performance and restore calm at a firm that has been rattled by management disputes. Gross left Pimco, which has almost $2 trillion in assets, for Janus Capital Group to run a new unconstrained bond fund with about $13 million in assets.
El-Erian on Sept. 27 praised Ivascyn as a “brilliant investor” and an “inspiring leader.” Ivascyn’s Pimco Income Fund has beaten 99% of competitors over the past three and five years.
El-Erian, who writes a column for Bloomberg View and is chief economic adviser at Pimco parent Allianz SE, said he was “happy” with his current role in response to whether he would return to Pimco as CEO.
“I have this portfolio of activity and I get to spend a lot more time with my daughter,” said El-Erian.
GROSS DEPARTURE
Gross left after his deputies threatened to quit and management debated his ouster, according to people familiar with the matter. The departure of Gross, who co-founded Pimco in 1971, has prompted investors to review their investments with the firm and move money to competitors.
Pimco named Mark Kiesel, Scott Mather and Mihir Worah to take over management of the Pimco Total Return Fund, the world’s largest bond mutual fund. Investors removed $23.5 billion from the fund in September, with the largest withdrawals coming on the day of Gross’s departure, according to Pimco.
El-Erian joined
