Pimco co-founder Bill Gross defends his intense management style, despite reported clashes with outgoing Pimco CEO Mohamed El-Erian before El-Erian's recent decision to leave the company.

Gross tells The Wall Street Journal that as the firm's top investment officer, he can't just be a big teddy bear.

"It's like dealing with family. You don't always produce a productive family by sweet talking and always being inclusive," he explains. "There's a time for soft love and time for hard love. . . . I can admit to both."

Editor’s Note: These 38 Dates Are Key to Bagging $313,038

Gross says no one has complained about his behavior. It's understandable that some of his Pimco colleagues may find him difficult to work with, but plenty would disagree, he admits. Gross says he challenges his co-workers for the betterment of the company.

Some colleagues don't like it when decisions go against them or they feel they don't have much influence in decisions, he says.

"It's hard to see yourself through other people's eyes," Gross notes. "I suppose they tend to think the big man at the top is calling the shots, but I don't perceive it that way."

Bloomberg View's Matthew Klein offers support for Gross.

"His flagship Total Return Fund has beaten the Barclays U.S. Aggregate bond index almost every year since inception," Klein writes.

"Recent performance has been less exemplary than past years, but still good. . . . If anything, this performance helped subsidize the rest of the company by convincing investors that some of Pimco's other products were also worth investing in."

Editor’s Note: These 38 Dates Are Key to Bagging $313,038

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