Bill Gross Quotes

Powerful Bill Gross for Daily Growth

About Bill Gross

Bill Gross, renowned as "The Bond King," is an influential American investor, financial author, and co-founder of PIMCO (Pacific Investment Management Company). Born on April 13, 1954, in St. Louis, Missouri, Gross grew up in a Jewish family where he developed his knack for math early on. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in mathematics and economics. After graduating, Gross worked at Wells Fargo Bank before joining Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company. In 1973, he co-founded PIMCO alongside his mentor, Peter L. Mihalevich. Under Gross's leadership as the company's Chief Investment Officer, PIMCO became one of the world's largest bond investment firms. Gross is best known for creating the Total Return Fund (TRF), which grew to become the world's largest bond fund. His investment strategies, focusing on total return, rather than just capital appreciation or income, revolutionized fixed-income investing. Gross's work has significantly impacted global finance, with PIMCO managing over $2 trillion in assets at its peak. In addition to his professional success, Gross is an accomplished author. His books, such as "Everything You've Heard About Investing Is Wrong" and "Japan's Long Road to Economic Renewal," offer unique insights into the world of finance. Despite stepping down as PIMCO's CIO in 2014, Gross remains an influential figure in the financial world. His legacy lies not only in his groundbreaking investment strategies but also in his ability to make complex financial concepts accessible to a broader audience.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Investing should be more like watching paint dry or watching grass grow. If you want excitement, take $800 and go to Las Vegas."

This quote by Bill Gross emphasizes the importance of patience and a long-term perspective in investing. He suggests that investing should ideally be a slow, steady process rather than an exciting or risky endeavor, much like watching paint dry or grass grow. The comparison to Las Vegas implies that speculative gambling, with its promise of quick returns and thrill, is not the ideal approach for investors seeking to build wealth over time. Instead, Gross encourages a strategy focused on steady growth and prudent risk management, which may yield more reliable results in the long run.


"Risk can never be completely eliminated, but it can be managed."

Bill Gross's quote emphasizes that risk is an inherent part of life and business, and it cannot be entirely eradicated. However, what one can do is effectively manage risk to minimize potential negative impacts while maximizing opportunities for growth and success. It highlights the importance of having a strategic approach, considering possible outcomes, and making informed decisions based on risk assessment and management strategies in various situations.


"Every investor has three sources of return: the expected economy growth rate, a compensation for taking systematic risk, and an award for skill in security selection."

This quote by Bill Gross highlights the primary factors that contribute to an investor's return on investment. The first factor is the expected growth rate of the economy, which refers to the potential gains from investing in an expanding market. The second factor, "compensation for taking systematic risk," emphasizes the idea that investors are rewarded for bearing market-wide risks, such as inflation, interest rates, and overall economic volatility. This compensation is reflected in the return on investments. Lastly, "an award for skill in security selection" indicates that successful investors can generate returns above the market average by making shrewd decisions about which specific securities to invest in, demonstrating their expertise and value-added capabilities. In other words, it's the reward for outperforming the broader market by selecting the right investments.


"When the financial markets are turbulent, it's not a good time to be timid or to procrastinate."

This quote by Bill Gross emphasizes the importance of decisive action during times of financial market volatility. The message is that uncertainty should prompt vigilance rather than inaction, as waiting or being timid could lead to missed opportunities or exacerbate losses. In other words, when markets are turbulent, one should be proactive and bold in their investment decisions instead of hesitating or delaying action.


"Bond yields have a tendency to revert to their long-term mean level over time – they can't go on trending indefinitely."

This quote by Bill Gross suggests that bond yields, which represent the return on investment for bonds, tend to oscillate around a long-term average or 'mean' level over time. In other words, extreme movements in bond yields are temporary, as they will eventually correct towards their historical average. This principle can be applied when analyzing financial markets, emphasizing the importance of considering long-term trends and historical data for investment strategies.


Americans now know that housing prices can go down and they can go down by 10, 20, 30, and in some cases, 40 or 50 percent. We know they can go down. But five years ago, we thought they could only go up.

- Bill Gross

Thought, Housing, Some, Cases

Whether a tops-down or bottoms-up investor in bonds, stocks, or private equity, the standard analysis tends to judge an investor or his firm on the basis of how the bullish or bearish aspects of the cycle were managed.

- Bill Gross

Private, Standard, Aspects, Bullish

What the Obama administration's policies have really been oriented towards have always been towards providing benefits continuing consumption. What this country needs really is a policy which stresses investments.

- Bill Gross

Always, Benefits, Needs, Stresses

Slow growth and inflation have a tendency to accompany large deficits and increasing debt as a percentage of GDP.

- Bill Gross

Slow, GDP, Accompany, Percentage

In questioning initially whether I am a great investor, I open the door to question whether other similarly esteemed public icons like Bill Miller are as well. It seems, perhaps, that the longer and longer you keep at it in this business the more and more time you have to expose your Achilles heel - wherever and whatever that might be.

- Bill Gross

Door, Questioning, Other, Initially

Accountants, machinists, medical technicians, even software writers that write the software for 'machines' are being displaced without upscaled replacement jobs. Retrain, rehire into higher paying and value-added jobs? That may be the political myth of the modern era. There aren't enough of those jobs.

- Bill Gross

Medical, Software, Political, Displaced

Bonds as an asset class will always be needed, and not just by insurance companies and pension funds but by aging boomers.

- Bill Gross

Insurance, Always, Boomers, Funds

Ex-Fidelity mutual fund manager Peter Lynch was certainly brilliant in one respect: he knew to get out when the gettin' was good.

- Bill Gross

Brilliant, Knew, Certainly, Gettin

Favouring employment versus the financial markets is a decent policy; certainly not beneficial for the currency or the gilt market, but beneficial for the people.

- Bill Gross

Financial, Certainly, Employment

Bond investors want growth much like equity investors, and to the extent that too much austerity leads to recession or stagnation then credit spreads widen out - even if a country can print its own currency and write its own cheques.

- Bill Gross

Country, Own, Extent, Stagnation

I would admit I'm an introvert. I don't know why introverts have to apologize.

- Bill Gross

Admit, Know, Would, Apologize

Imperceptibly, the developed world's manufacturing base was gradually eroding and being replaced by securitized finance that destroyed itself and nearly its economies in 2008.

- Bill Gross

Being, Nearly, Replaced, Manufacturing

It's going to be difficult to stimulate the real economy in the U.S. at a faster rate than 2 percent and perhaps even less if we have that fiscal cliff in December or January 2013.

- Bill Gross

Difficult, Cliff, Going, December

I am obsessed with delivering value to investors and winning the game from a personal standpoint.

- Bill Gross

Game, Obsessed, Delivering, Standpoint

Both from the standpoint of stocks and bonds, an investor wants to go where the growth is.

- Bill Gross

Go, Bonds, Investor, Standpoint

You know those adages about smelling the roses and chasing butterflies? The markets are my butterflies and my roses.

- Bill Gross

Butterflies, About, Markets, Roses

The U.K. and almost all of Europe have erred in terms of believing that austerity, fiscal austerity in the short term, is the way to produce real growth. It is not. You've got to spend money.

- Bill Gross

Real, Almost All, Almost, Short Term

Well, I, you know, I think at PIMCO we always try and be open with the press and the public. I mean, isn't that what voters want from their politicians? Mohamed El-Erian, our CEO, writes several op-eds a week.

- Bill Gross

Week, I Think, Voters, Writes

Companies typically borrow money at less than their return on equity and therefore compound their return at the expense of lenders.

- Bill Gross

Equity, Expense, Less, Compound

When does money run out of time? The countdown begins when investable assets pose too much risk for too little return; when lenders desert credit markets for other alternatives such as cash or real assets.

- Bill Gross

Run, Other, Out, Cash

The real boss in the family is my wife. She didn't want me hanging around the house all day and said, 'You don't want to retire; you'll regret it.' So I listened to her.

- Bill Gross

Wife, Boss, Regret, Retire

Human nature means that institutions at some point lose their sense of mission. That sense of vulnerability drives Pimco.

- Bill Gross

Nature, Some, Means, Human Nature

If financial assets no longer work for you at a rate far and above the rate of true wealth creation, then you must work longer for your money.

- Bill Gross

Work, Financial, Wealth, Assets

I always thought of myself as being part of a family and sharing and, yes, leading, but not forcing people to do anything.

- Bill Gross

Thought, Yes, Always, Sharing

I am tough but I have a soft side.

- Bill Gross

I Am, Side, Am, Soft

My clients don't pay me to feel sorry; they pay me to bring them money. I am tough, but I have a soft side.

- Bill Gross

Clients, Bring, Side, Soft

Bernanke and company are trying to reflate the economy with almost stated objective of inflation at 2 percent and higher in order to provide some type of safety margin for a future recession. That's where they want to go.

- Bill Gross

Some, Almost, Type, Objective

It's sort of like a teeter-totter; when interest rates go down, prices go up.

- Bill Gross

Like, Interest Rates, Rates, Prices

In terms of economic growth, PIMCO originated the famous phrase the 'new normal.'

- Bill Gross

Famous, New, Normal, Phrase

Obama/Romney, Romney/Obama - the most important election of our lifetime? Fact is they're all the same - bought and paid for with the same money. Ours is a country of the SuperPAC, by the SuperPAC, and for the SuperPAC.

- Bill Gross

Election, Fact, Country, Bought

If you're searching for quotes on a different topic, feel free to browse our Topics page or explore a diverse collection of quotes from various Authors to find inspiration.