Gross Rebuts Cooperman on Treasuries Citing Risk for Stocks

Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Bill Gross said investors should be cautious about substituting dividend-paying stocks for Treasuries as there’s a “huge gap of risk” between the two types of assets.

Treasuries, rated a top AAA credit grade by Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings and AA+ by Standard & Poor’s, returned 9.8 percent last year, their best performance since 2008, as Europe’s debt crisis intensified and concern mounted that global economic growth was slowing. Stocks have an implied Baa rating, about seven steps lower than the highest investment grade, Gross said.