Los Angeles based money manager, which is currently overseeing funds worth $110 Billion; TCW has fired its Chief Investment Officer Jeffrey E. Gundlach. He has now been replaced as the fixed-income head with co-founder of the bond firm that the company recently acquired.

50 year old Mr. Gundlach, whose fund managed to outperform Bill Gross’s Pimco Total Return Fund over the last decade, was reportedly "relieved of his duties". His duties will now be taken over by Tad Rivelle, Metropolitan West Asset Management LLC's Investment Chief. The company has not come out to say that it "deeply regrets" the decision which it was recently forced to take.

Eric Jacobson, Director of Fixed-Income Research at Morningstar Inc, while stressing that the sudden lay-off of a fund executive the level of Mr. Gundlach is "extremely rare", said, "In terms of surprises, I can’t think of anything else to compare it to".

Mr. Gundlach had been associated with TCW since 1985, and was recently nominated for Morningstar’s Fund Manager of the Decade Award in the Fixed- Income Category. In 1996, he won the research firm's annual award.