Bill Gross leaves Pimco for Janus

REUTERS - Bill Gross, one of the bond market's most renowned investors, is leaving Pimco, the asset management firm he founded, for rival asset management firm Janus Capital Group, Janus said on Friday.

Dubbed the "Bond King" and long-time manager of the Pimco Total Return Fund , the world's largest bond fund, Gross will manage the Janus Global Unconstrained Bond Fund, Janus said in a statement. He begins work at Janus on Sept. 29, Janus said.

The announcement comes just days after the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. securities regulators were investigating Pimco and Gross in connection with an exchange traded fund he also managed at Pimco.

German insurer Allianz SE,the parent of Newport Beach, California-based Pimco, could not immediately be reached for comment.

(Reporting By Dan Burns)