Janus Capital Group on Thursday announced replacements for a pair of portfolio managers who will leave the Denver-based mutual-fund company at month’s end.
Research analysts Brian Schaub, 28, and Chad Meade, 29, will take over the $147 million Triton Fund. The duo replaces Blaine Rollins, a 16-year Janus veteran who will leave the company June 30.
Ron Sachs, portfolio manager of the Orion Fund, will take the reins at the $2.2 billion Olympus Fund. He replaces Claire Young, who will leave the company at month’s end after 14 years at Jan us. Sachs will also replace Young on the Janus World Funds Plc-U.S. All Cap Growth Fund.
How big of a blow will the departures of Rollins and Young be for Janus?
“If you put it in perspective, those two funds are not a big piece of their puzzle,” said Robert Lee, a senior analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc. in New York. “It gives you (reason) to pause any time a portfolio manager leaves, but that’s a natural part of the business.”
Rollins until January ran the $11 billion Janus Fund. Young, who manages two funds, is in charge of about $2.3 billion. Janus collectively manages $158 billion in assets. The company’s stock closed Thursday at $17.01, down 39 cents.
Naming a pair of managers to the Triton Fund is the latest indication that Janus is moving – at least in part – toward more teams and co-managers running funds, said Dan McNeela, an analyst with Chicago’s Morningstar Inc.
He said Janus is increasingly giving analysts a chance to select stocks, which could help attract and retain top analysts.
Lee said that other large asset managers are also increasingly using teams to manage money.
“It creates more depth” and eases the transition period when “senior people leave,” said Lee, who rates Janus stock as market perform.
Of the 23 funds in Janus’ primary “fund family,” three are managed by investment teams and two are run by co-managers. In 2003, those 23 funds were managed individually, said spokeswoman Shelley Peterson.
Peterson said Janus uses team managers when it makes sense. She said the company has no plans to move away from individual portfolio managers across the board.
During the last few years, fund performance at Janus has improved.
Through May, almost two-thirds of the Janus equity funds ranked in the top half of their categories during the last three-year period. In May 2004, almost half of Janus’ equity funds ranked in the top 50 percent of their categories during the three-year period, according to Morningstar.
Staff writer Will Shanley can be reached at 303-820-1260 or wshanley@denverpost.com.
