Denver’s Janus Capital Group on Wednesday announced the second surprise shake-up for its investment team in a week – the resignation of veteran stock picker Mike Lu.
Lu, who has headed the $1.04 billion Janus Global Technology Fund for seven years, will leave Feb. 10. Lu is staying on through next week to help “ensure a smooth transition,” Janus said in a statement.
Lu will be replaced by a pair of Janus research analysts, Brad Slingerlend and Barney Wilson. Five other Janus researchers will help manage the fund, which invests in technology-related stocks around the globe.
The announcement comes after the January demotion of veteran portfolio manager Blaine Rollins, who was moved from the company’s largest offering, the Janus Fund, to the much smaller Triton Fund.
The move is the latest indication that Janus is, at least in part, moving toward a team approach to managing its funds, said Dan McNeela, a senior analyst at Morningstar, the Chicago mutual-fund researcher.
The Janus Mercury Fund and the Janus Research Fund also are managed by teams.
Even so, McNeela called Lu’s resignation “a little bit of a surprise” because “the fund had the potential to be on the upswing.”
The fund had posted a 7.3 percent gain so far this year and an 11.5 percent gain in 2005, well ahead of its peers’ 5.9 percent average return last year. During the past three years, the fund surged 22 percent, according to Morningstar.
“Mike’s added great value during his time at Janus, and we all wish him well in his future endeavors,” Gary Black, Janus chief executive, said in a statement.
Sandy Rufenacht, a former Janus bond-fund manager, called Lu “one of the smartest guys I’ve ever met.”
“Mike is a genius,” said Rufenacht, who now runs Greenwood Village-based Three Peaks Capital Management. “You could never question his knowledge of a company.”
Lu, a Yale graduate who joined Janus in 1991 as a research analyst, through a spokeswoman declined comment.
Staff writer Will Shanley can be reached at 303-820-1260 or wshanley@denverpost.com.
