Bill Gross’ main bond fund at Janus Capital Group Inc. received an estimated $769 million in new money last month, bringing assets above $1 billion.
His Janus Global Unconstrained Bond Fund reported assets of $1.21 billion as of Nov. 28. That’s an increase from $442.9 million from the prior month. The fund returned 0.38 percent in the month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Janus is seeking to raise its profile and rebuild a brand damaged by missteps and departures of money managers. The Denver-based firm hired Gross from Pacific Investment Management Co., manager of the world’s biggest bond fund, and recently agreed to buy VelocityShares LLC to expand in exchange-traded products, the fastest-growing part of the fund industry.
Janus said it had about $1.1 billion in U.S. mutual fund deposits in October, the first time in more than three years that clients added net new money. Competing bond managers, including DoubleLine Capital and Vanguard Group, are also benefiting as investors pull their money from Pimco after Gross’ abrupt departure Sept. 26. Clients withdrew a record $51 billion in September and October from the Pimco Total Return Fund, previously run by Gross, before redemptions slowed to $9.5 billion in November, according to the firm.
Gross’ fund, which won a $500 million mandate from a vehicle managed by George Soros’ investment firm, Quantum Partners LP, has outperformed 85 percent of similar funds in the past month.
