Rawson said $7.4 billion was moved out of Pimco's funds in March, while $15.5 billion was withdrawn by investors in the first quarter. Pimco's flagship Total Return Fund (PTTRX), for instance, experienced $3.1 billion in outflows in March. Other intermediate-term bond funds had $7.4 billion of inflows during the month.
Withdrawals Split
Wemmer said investors had been changing their strategic asset allocation and withdrawing money from a mix of products. "It's half and half between total return-type funds and the newer fund families," he said.
Allianz had reported preliminary quarterly earnings last week, but its declaration that it remains on track to achieve its full-year target for group operating profit of 10 billion euros failed to mollify shareholders angry at Pimco's performance.
After El-Erian's departure, Pimco set up a structure of six deputy chief investment officers to back up Gross, 70, who is now the sole CIO.
"We've done all the necessary changes together with Pimco management," Wemmer told Reuters TV. "What the renewed team has to demonstrate is continued good performance of the funds."
Operating profit in asset management fell to 646 million euros, from 900 million euros in last year's strong corresponding quarter, with performance fees at Pimcoslumping by 96 percent.
"Asset management operating profit was a tick worse than we had expected on the basis of preliminary data," LBBW analyst Werner Schirmer said in a note to clients.
Allianz shares rose 0.8 percent to 122.85 euros by 1504 GMT, outpacing a flat STOXX Europe 600 insurance index.
Allianz is one of the world's biggest fund managers, with 1.3 trillion euros in third-party assets under management at the end of the first quarter. Pimco represents the lion's share of those assets, at 1.1 trillion euros.