MutualFundWire.com: So This Is Why El-Erian Left

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Tuesday, February 25, 2014

So This Is Why El-Erian Left

Talk about an intense work environment.

An article by Gregory Zuckerman, Kirsten Grind and Min Zeng of the Wall Street Journal portrays sharply escalating tensions between departing Pimco chief executive officer Mohamed El-Erian and co-founder Bill Gross.

The article, the results of interviews with nearly two-dozen sources close to the executives and the firm, paints a picture of an intense work environment that got even more intense in recent months.

You need to read the article to get all the insights, you really do, but here are a few tidbits, quoted directly from the piece, to give you a taste:

"I have a 41-year track record of investing excellence," Mr. Gross told Mr. El-Erian, according to the two witnesses. "What do you have?"

"I'm tired of cleaning up your s—," Mr. El-Erian responded, referring to conduct by Mr. Gross that he felt was hurting Pimco, these two people recall.

On the trading floor, Mr. Gross doesn't like employees speaking with him or making eye contact, especially in the morning, current and former employees say. He prefers silence and at times reprimands those who break it, even if they're discussing investments, these people say.

Bill Powers, a former Pimco senior executive who left in 2010, says Mr. Gross "routinely grew tired and wary of those closest to him who had assumed significant responsibility, power, and compensation. After a four to five-year honeymoon period, the chosen one's halo would turn into a crown of thorns where interactions with Bill would turn adversarial, short, and unpleasant."