Mr. Gross was forced out of Pimco, which he co-founded in 1971, five years ago. His performance has lagged since he joined Janus Henderson Investments.
William H. Gross, the “Bond King,” is going into retirement.
Mr. Gross, who co-founded the investment firm Pimco in 1971 and built it into a $2 trillion colossus, entertained investors with quirky pronouncements over many decades. He left unceremoniously in a nasty dispute in 2014, and joined Janus Henderson Investments, which announced his retirement on Monday.
“I’ve had a wonderful ride for over 40 years in my career,” he said in a statement, “trying at all times to put client interests first while inventing and reinventing active bond management along the way.”
At Pimco, Mr. Gross controlled more bond money that anyone in the world. He advised the Treasury on the role of subprime mortgage bonds in the dark days of the financial crisis, and his colorful metaphors often enlivened the otherwise dreary discourse about fixed-income investing.
In 2011, for example, he told me that investors were like complacent frogs sitting in a pot of slowly heating water.
“Bond investors are receiving almost nothing for their money, and the situation is getting worse and worse,” he said. “But they’ve gotten used to it. They don’t realize how bad it is. And before they know it, well, they’ll be cooked.”
His utterances in those days often moved markets, and his early-morning yoga ritual at Newport Beach, Calif.
