George Soros's firm pulled almost $500 million from an account run by Bill Gross, money it invested last year after the bond manager left Pacific Investment Management Co. to run a new fund at Janus Capital Group Inc., according to a person familiar with the matter.
Data from eVestment LLC show that an unidentified institutional investor redeemed $490.1 million from the global unconstrained bond strategy run by Gross at Denver-based Janus, Pensions & Investments reported earlier. The money was pulled by Soros Fund Management, the firm overseeing the wealth of the billionaire investor and philanthropist, said the person, who asked not to be identified.
The redemption by one of the best-known money managers is a setback for Gross, who has struggled to attract assets at his new fund amid mediocre returns in his first year. Gross's fund, the $1.38 billion Janus Global Unconstrained Bond Fund, declined 1.2 percent this year, trailing 71 percent of similar funds, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Gross personally invested $700 million in the unconstrained fund, according to a January filing.
