Pimco executives insist the company is moving forward

Pimco executives looked to reassure the market and said the firm remains in an excellent position, despite the departure of co-founder Bill Gross.

Gross announced he was leaving the company on 26 September, in the wake of months of bad headlines generated by investors pulling about $80bn from Total Return Fund, the group’s flagship and the largest bond fund in the world.

On Tuesday, the company’s executives said the firm would adopt a more team-based attitude, rather than rely on high profile figures such as Gross.

"It's not a triumvirate, it's a team approach," group chief executive Douglas Hodge said in an interview with CNBC.

"We are evolving Pimco [...] from a founder-led approach to a team environment. So we work together."

According to reports, Gross would have been fired had he not resigned, but Pimco’s executives refused to criticise the company’s co-founder.

"Bill has made enormous contributions to Pimco over the years and in fact has made enormous contributions to our industry. We wish him luck," Hodge said.

"The firm is moving forward. We are enthusiastic, we're optimistic, our clients are standing with us, the firm is on the move, and we're ready to go."

The group also lost its chief executive officer Mohamed El-Erian, who left the company earlier in 2014, allegedly for not seeing eye-to-eye with Gross.

Hodge and new chief information officer Daniel Ivascyn stressed that the company was focused on improving its performances and it could still count on a strong portfolio of managers.

"We communicated to the outside world through a couple of individuals, but we have more portfolio managers on our roster than ever before," Ivascyn said.

"I believe my role ultimately at the end of the day is to create an environment that allows good decision-making."

Hodge added that the equities branch of the business remained a pivotal part of Pimco’s strategy.

"We're absolutely committed to that business," he said. "It's an important part of our way forward as we evolve Pimco to a multi-asset, multi-strategy firm."