PIMCO Employees Are Getting 'Special Performance' Bonuses Now That Bill Gross Is Gone

PIMCO just created a 225 million euro ($279 mn) bonus to compensate top talent and reassure employees after co-founder and chief investment officer Bill Gross unexpectedly quit in September.

The "Special Performance Award," outlined today in PIMCO's quarterly earnings report, will be paid out as deferred cash awards over the next 10 to 12 quarters -- in addition to regular year-end bonuses.

Dieter Wemmer, CFO at Allianz SE, which owns PIMCO, said on a conference call that "all employees that are not participating in the PIMCO profit pool" will receive the bonus, including senior portfolio managers, according to Bloomberg.

Quarterly profits are up 10 percent from last year for the world's largest bond fund, but Bloomberg reported that it lost 49.2 bn euros ($61.1 bn) in client redemptions last quarter - mostly in the week after Gross left.

PIMCO had experienced some tribulations under Bill Gross recently, and his sudden exit still left clients and staff uneasy. So this new award should "secure performance" and "retain talents," the report said.