Janus Capital Group, a Denver-based fund manager that has struggled to attract investors, hired Richard M. Weil, head of Pimco Advisory, as chief executive, filling a vacancy left when Gary Black quit in July.
Weil, 46, a lawyer with no investing experience, runs the unit of Pacific Investment Management that advises investors on valuation and risk management, the company said in a statement. A former chief operating officer of Newport Beach, Calif.-based Pimco, Weil will take over at Janus on Feb. 1.
“We wanted a proven leader with global experience and success running and building businesses,” Janus chairman Steve Scheid said by telephone.
Black, Janus’ chief executive since January 2006, resigned in July after failing to reverse a decline in investor assets that began with the collapse of technology stocks in 2001. At least 15 senior executives left as Black reduced the pay and influence of fund managers in an effort to introduce more team-based oversight.
“I’d view this as a modest positive,” said Jeffrey Hopson, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus & Co. in St. Louis, who rates Janus a “buy.” “He had a broad range of responsibilities and comes from a good shop with a global view.”
Scheid said Weil would be moving to Denver. Black lived in the New York area throughout his tenure at Janus, typically spending four days a week in Denver.
Weil will receive a base salary of $500,000 and be eligible for performance-based compensation, including a cash bonus with a target value of $3.5 million and stock and options awards with a target of $6 million annually, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He also will receive a signing bonus on Feb. 5 of $10 million in restricted stock that will vest over the next three years.
