It Is Time for Bill Gross to Disappear

Bill Gross, the bond king, should spend less time on television and more time in his office shoring up the poor results of his PIMCO Total Return Fund. It has had $17 billion in cash outflow in the past 12 months. Gross has wasted so much time in the public eye that investors have the right to protest.

The PIMCO Total Return Fund has more than $240 billion in assets, but it has done poorly this year. Its portfolio return so far is 3.48% through November. Its peer group is up 5.87%.

Gross seems to be on CNBC almost daily. When he is not, he is being interviewed by Bloomberg or Reuters about the state of the world’s economy. Gross is particularly fond of opining on the problems of Greece and the sovereign disaster in the eurozone, the reasons for unemployment in the U.S. and the effects of the U.S. deficit.

Gross recently wrote that “Europe’s issues are secular and global, reflecting worldwide delivering and growth dynamics that began in 2008. In this environment, 5% long-term portfolio growth will put investors near the top of the class.” Of course, he has been unable to reach that 5% benchmark on his own this year.

It would be an overstatement to say that money managers who spend their time becoming famous by appearances in the media are taking precious time away from their jobs. But, it is not much of one.

Douglas A. McIntyre