Bond king Bill Gross has long been known for the eccentric style of his investment outlook letters, which awkwardly combine personal revelations such as the death of his cat and the state of his marriage with his views about the financial markets.
Yet his latest missive on Thursday caused readers' eyebrows to arch particularly high, when he argued that "bonds, like men, are in a bear market".
The Janus Henderson fund manager had already earlier this week declared that the bond bull market was over, and in his first letter of 2018, he attempted to compare the fading fixed income outlook to that of men in the midst of a social awakening on sexual harassment in and outside the workplace.
"For both, it's hard to say when [the bear market] began . . . but then in retrospect it should have been obvious that for bonds, like men — 'their time was up'."
Mr Gross planted his tongue in his cheek and listed "a few positive qualities" that men have. "Men need fewer pairs of shoes and purses," he began.
And men always know where the remote control is, he added. "Right next to them."
The letter is the latest in a list of curious missives that the famed bond manager has written since his days as the chief investment officer at Pimco, where a long, positive record earned him the moniker of "bond king".
Oprah shouted, 'Their time has come'. The bear bond market's time has come as well. Many would say, including yours truly — 'It's about time
They have often switched jarringly from an opening cultural observation to how it pertains to financial markets, or dwelled on personal issues such as the death of Mr Gross' female cat Bob in 2014.
"I often asked her about her recommendations for pet food stocks, and she frequently responded — one meow for 'no,' two meows for a 'you bet.' She was less certain about interest rates, but then it never hurt to ask," he joked.
Underscoring how his investment notes have raised eyebrows, the UK's Daily Telegraph once ran a feature asking readers to guess whether a particular passage had been written by Mr Gross or anarchist comedian Russell Brand.
Misfiring humour has cost him professionally, however. An attempt at self-deprecation at a Morningstar conference in 2014, in which he compared himself to pop singer Justin Bieber and pretended to hypnotise the audience, came when he was under pressure at Pimco over his erratic management style. Colleagues forced him out later that year, believing he had become a liability.
Concluding his latest investment outlook, published on the Janus website, Mr Gross referenced Oprah Winfrey's recent Golden Globes speech on how women had for too long been cowed by powerful men, again drawing parallels to the fixed income market.
"Oprah shouted, 'Their time has come'. The bear bond market's time has come as well. Many would say, including yours truly — 'It's about time," he said.
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