Pimco was hit with a further outflow of $4.3 billion from its flagship Total Return Bond fund in May.

Run by founder Bill Gross, who is Citywire + rated, the world's largest bond fund has now fallen to an estimated $229 billion on the back of recent outflows, according to the Financial Times.

The preliminary figures are from Morningstar and suggest that over $4 billion was redeemed from the fund, equating to 1.9%. This represents the thirteenth consecutive month of outflows and the worst level since last October.

The news follows the shock resignation of co-chief investment officer Mohamed El-Erian in January, with reports of tensions between El-Erian and Gross.

According to Lipper data, the fund posted a 10.4% three-year return to the end of April and was sixth out of the eight-strong US Dollar Bond sector.