By Jennifer Ablan
(Reuters) - The Pimco Total Return Fund, launched by Bill Gross, has lost its title as the world's biggest bond mutual fund, following two years of withdrawals.
On Monday, Pimco said investors yanked another $5.6 billion from the Pimco Total Return Fund last month, bringing its assets to $110.4 billion at end of April.
By comparison, the Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund had $117.3 billion as of April 30, according to a Vanguard spokesman.
"We do not view this as an asset gathering horse race," said John S. Woerth, spokesman at Vanguard Group. "It is, however, representative of the popularity of low-cost, broadly diversified index funds."
The Pimco Total Return Fund delivered a net after fee return of 1.62 percent year-to-date through April, outperforming its benchmark by 38 basis points, Pimco said.
Gross, the legendary bond manager long known as the 'Bond King,' exited Pimco last September for smaller rival Janus Capital Group Inc
Pimco has seen about $130 billion of net withdrawals from its open-ended funds since Gross' departure even as performance has improved.
Outflows from the flagship Pimco Total Return Fund, which Gross managed since 1987, have slowed to an average of $7 billion to $8 billion a month recently from $23.5 billion in September.
(Reporting By Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Bernard Orr)