Redemptions from Pacific Investment Management Co.'s largest mutual fund slowed to the lowest since William H. Gross left the firm, as performance rebounded.
Clients pulled $8.6 billion in February, down from $11.6 billion in the prior month, bringing assets in the PIMCO Total Return Fund to $124.7 billion, according to data from the firm. Since Mr. Gross left in September, a combined $100 billion has been pulled from the fund.
The redemptions are the lowest in six months as the fund, once the world's largest, rebounded under the new management team PIMCO put in place following Mr. Gross' surprise departure. PIMCO parent Allianz last month reported an unexpected decline in fourth-quarter profit as redemptions at PIMCO weighed on its money management unit.
“I am watching outflows at PIMCO on a daily basis,” Michael Diekmann, Allianz's CEO, told reporters.
While withdrawals were at the “upper end of our expectations” when Mr. Gross left, they are now coming down, Mr. Diekmann said. Figures for February were “in line” with those seen in January, he said, adding that he remains optimistic for 2015 because of PIMCO's “solid” performance.
The fund's assets have declined from a peak of $293 billion in April 2013.
PIMCO Total Return Fund has advanced 1.44% this year, outperforming 92% of similarly managed funds, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Since Mr. Gross left on Sept. 26, it has returned 2.8%.
