NEW YORK—Giant asset manager Pacific Investment Management Co. lured more cash than any of its rivals last year even as its flagship Total Return Fund, the world’s biggest bond fund, suffered its first ever calendar-year net outflow.
Pimco, among the world’s biggest fund managers, secured a net inflow of $38.8 billion last year in actively managed bond and equity mutual funds, according to data from fund tracker Lipper generated at the request of Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
In contrast, the $244.1 billion Total Return Fund, which is managed by high-profile bond manager and Pimco founder Bill Gross, posted a $5 billion net redemption, according to data from fund tracker Morningstar Inc. It was the first calendar-year outflow since the fund’s inception in 1987, likely a direct result of Mr. Gross’s ill-timed bets in the Treasury bond market in the early part of last year.
“The outflow in the flagship fund was just a small pothole in the road. They got past it pretty easily,” said Jeff Tjornehoj, senior research analyst for Lipper. “Pimco has a name everyone wants to associate with. Even the outflow from the flagship fund is very small when you look at the entire firm.”
Mr. Gross, also co-chief investment officer at Pimco, wasn’t immediately available to comment. Pimco, part of Allianz SE, has more than $1 trillion in global assets under management.
Pimco’s inflow beat its closest rivals last year: Morgan Stanley Investment Management, which lured $18.1 billion, and DoubleLine Capital LP, with a $12.5 net inflow. Rounding out the top five were JPMorgan Investment Management, with $12 billion, and Dimensional Fund Advisors, with $9.9 billion, according to Lipper.
