Bill Gross appears to be at peace with the next chapter of his career.
In Gross’ first public appearance since his abrupt departure as Pimco’s manager last month, he and Janus Capital Group CEO Dick Weil spent the first 10 minutes of a webcast Thursday assuring the public of the logical fit Gross brings to the Denver investment firm.
Weil touted their personal 20-year-long relationship, and Gross said his goal isn’t to disrupt Janus’ existing structure but to complement it with his unconstrained fund strategy.
“Like any successful marriage, we sort of chose each other,” Gross said on the webcast. He acknowledged the bond-market disruptions caused by his Pimco exit but said he sees “very smooth sailing” ahead. “I expect to live a happy second life at Janus,” Gross said.
On his investment outlook, Gross said bond and stock investors alike “must recognize that times have changed.” He stresses he doesn’t see a bear market — so no sharp selloffs in stocks or bonds — but that investors should not expect the double-digit returns of the old days.
“The global economy is slowing down,” Gross said.
With yields held low by central banks and growth around the world slow, the new norm is 2 percent, 3 percent and 4 percent returns from bonds, he said.
