What PIMCO Looks Like After Bill Gross

Sunday nights aren't usually associated with major financial news, which makes it all the more curious why Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) released a major update a few hours before midnight on September 28.

But then again, PIMCO didn't exactly have a typical week, either.

Last Friday, founder Bill Gross announced he was leaving the firm for Janus Capital Group Inc (NYSE: JNS). Shares of Janus rose 43 percent.

PIMCO as a whole isn't publicly traded, but investors sold many of its funds en masse.

PIMCO Corporate and Income Opp Fund (NYSE: PTY), PIMCO Global Stockplus and Income Fund (NYSE: PGP) and Pimco HIgh Income Fund (NYSE: PHK) each shed over 5 percent in value during Friday's trading.

The Wall Street Journal reports PIMCO could have lost at least $10 billion from withdrawals over the weekend.

Related Link: Allianz Missed The Boat With Its Pimco Unit, Sanford Bernstein Says

So, how did the firm respond? With a Q&A from Chief Investment Officers Scott Mather, Mark Kiesel and Mihir Worah, who now manage Gross's $200 billion-plus baby, the PIMCO Total Return Fund.

Highlights from the Q&A session are below:

• "I am proud to say that we all have strong long-term records of generating performance for clients." -Scott Mather
• "As with every other generalist portfolio manager at PIMCO, Bill Gross relied on us – along with the firm’s 240 other portfolio managers – for help in generating the trade ideas that have driven the strategy’s strong historical performance." -Mark Kiesel
• "[W]e believe that a more explicit team approach actually brings a lot of benefits to the strategy." -Mihir Worah
• "[T]here may be times when we simply can’t come to an agreement. Should that happen, I will make the call." -Scott Mather
• "Our belief in the New Neutral continues to anchor our views. We believe the Fed has been looking, and will continue to look, to reflate the U.S. economy." -Scott Mather

Twitter reacted as one might expect:

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the equities mentioned in this report.