Pimco Total Return attracted $1.7B in first quarter

Bill Gross' Pimco Total Return Fund, the world's biggest mutual fund, attracted $1.7 billion in investor deposits in the first quarter as performance rebounded. The last time the fund gained was in the third quarter of 2011, when it brought in $2.3 billion, according to data compiled by Morningstar Inc. Investors pulled about $3 billion from the fund in the three-month period ended Dec. 31, bringing withdrawals last year to $5 billion, Morningstar said. The $252 billion Total Return Fund (PTTAX) has advanced 2.9% this year, beating 97% of similarly managed funds, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The fund last year gained 4.2%, lagging behind 69% of its peers, after Mr. Gross missed a rally in U.S. Treasuries and put money into riskier assets. Mr. Gross, who eliminated Treasuries from his portfolio in February 2011, had been increasing his holdings of the securities until February, when he reduced the proportion of U.S. government securities to 37% of assets, from 38% in January, according to the Pacific Investment Management Co. LLC website. Investors put a net $6.4 billion into Jeffrey Gundlach's DoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund (DBLTX) in the first quarter, following deposits of $3.6 billion in the fourth quarter, according to Morningstar. Mr. Gundlach's fund has risen 3% this year, beating 97% of rivals, Bloomberg data show.