The Big Take
Pimco Is Falling Behind as Private Credit Booms
The fund giant’s dive into the private-markets gold rush has been much more tentative than rivals. There’s a danger of getting left behind.
Like anyone who’s worked for a domineering boss, veterans of fund giant Pacific Investment Management Co. are still fond of swapping war stories about their old leader Bill Gross.
One such tale has the famed bond trader, and Pimco founder, poring over a mountain of papers in the late evening hours to check on the hundreds of securities sitting in his then $250 billion flagship fund. As staff rolled into the office at 5 a.m. the next day, one manager found a handwritten note querying a relatively tiny $10 million debt position. “Why is this here?” Gross wrote.