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GROSS EXIT HITS PIMCO  • Sometimes it doesn’t pay to have a fund manager who’s a rock star. Bill Gross helped found mutual fund giant PIMCO and ran its Total Return Fund, which grew into the world’s largest bond fund. On Friday, he announced his surprise defection to rival Janus Capital. where he’ll manage its recently launched Unconstrained Bond Fund.

Gross’ successful tenure at PIMCO recently turned rocky.  There have been reports of management turmoil during the past year, and the Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly is looking into whether the PIMCO Total Return Fund artificially boosted returns. The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, reported today that PIMCO was getting ready to fire Gross before he suddenly resigned.

Yet, this legendary bond investor has a loyal following. The news sent investors fleeing from PIMCO funds, causing closed-end funds like its High Income Fund and its Corporate & Income Opportunity Fund to tumble 6.1 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively. Allianz SE. PIMCO’s German parent, lost 4.8 percent.

Shares of Janus Capital, on the other hand, rose a whopping 43 percent today. Rival money managers’ shares also rose as investors figured they might grab a piece of PIMCO’s business: Legg Mason and BlackRock each gained 4 percent.

STILL DOWN: Strong economic news and corporate earning helped lift the S&P 500, though the bellwether index still lost 1.4 percent for the week. The government reported that the U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of 4.6 percent in the spring, the fastest pace in more than two years.

SWOOSH SOARS • Athletic shoe giant Nike soared 12 percent today, making it the top gainer among the S&P 500. The shares rallied after the company reported late Thursday afternoon that fiscal first-quarter profit jumped on double-digit revenue growth, topping expectations.

RADIOSHACK GETS JOLT • Share of beleaguered retailer RadioShack soared 24 percent after investor Standard General said it was discussing financing with the retailer. Despite the rally, the stock is down 62 percent so far this year. In March, RadioShack announced it would close about a fifth of its stores due to poor holiday sales and then the retailer said two weeks ago it might go into Chapter 11 bankruptcy because of the lack of cash.

LOCAL INDEX:  The Bloomberg St. Louis Index rose 0.7 percent.