The flagship fund of PIMCO suffered record outflows after renowned investment head Bill Gross left in September.

PIMCO’s flagship Total Return Fund suffered record outflows of $27.5 billion in October following the shock departure of Bill Gross in September.

PIMCO said in a statement that total assets for the fund were $170.9 billion as of 31 October, down from a peak of almost $300 billion in April 2013.

The fund group said that clients pulled $27.5 billion during the month, nearly half of which occurred during the first five trading days.

The firm noted how outflows slowed as the month progressed.

“Flows from the Total Return Fund peaked on September 26, and slowed sharply throughout October. October performance of +0.80 per cent after fees was in line with the Total Return Fund’s peer group,” said Daniel Tarman, a PIMCO spokesperson.

The fund, which was managed by Gross for 27 years, has now experienced 18 straight months of outflows.

Elsewhere, the PIMCO GIS Total Return Bond Fund saw outflows of -$2.1 billion, with total assets of $11.4 billion for October.

Gross has joined rival Janus Capital Group in Newport Beach, CA, and will manage the recently-launched Janus Global Unconstrained Bond fund.

His exit is an example of how an individual, given sufficient prominence, can affect the fortunes of the erstwhile business, at least in the short-term.

PIMCO was quick to react to Gross’s departure by naming Daniel Ivascyn as his successor, as well as unveiling three new managers at the Total Return Fund.

The group has seen a number of high-level moves in recent months, including the departure of former chief executive Mohamed El-Erian, who is said, according to reports, to have left following disagreements with Gross. In addition to naming Hodge as replacement CEO, PIMCO also appointed six new deputy investment chiefs as part of a management restructure.

PIMCO was founded in 1971 and bought by German insurance and financial services giant Allianz in 2000. In May, Frankfurt-listed Allianz reported a fall in operating profit at its asset management arm of 26 per cent, driven largely by net outflows of €21.7 billion ($29.7 billion) from PIMCO.