As of March 31, Janus Henderson had $311 billion in assets under management.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday that the consumer price index rose 3% from a year ago in June, the smallest 12-month increase since March 2021, and below the 4% annualized rise posted in May 2023.
Economists were expecting a 3.1% CPI figure for June, according to financial data firm FactSet Research Systems.
The monthly CPI has been steadily declining since reaching 9.1% in June 2022, which marked a 40-year high.
Excluding the volatile food and energy sectors, the core CPI rose by an annualized 4.8% in June 2023.
The Federal Reserve has considered the inflation rate a critical factor in its monetary policy.
The Fed's key short-term interest rate is now in a range of between 5% to 5.25% — after the central bank decided to leave the rate unchanged at its June 14 meeting.
As of Wednesday morning, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool, shortly after release of the CPI data, market participants' pricing of fed fund futures indicated there is a 92.4% probability that the Fed will hike by 25 basis points when it issues its next monetary policy decision on July 26, and only a 7.6% probability it will keep rates unchanged.
Alexandra Wilson-Elizondo, deputy CIO of multiasset solutions at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said that while the softer June CPI data is only one piece of economic data, it will nonetheless "buy investors time and give them the opportunity to catch their breath."
However, Ms. Wilson-Elizondo cautioned by email that she continues "to expect that U.S. monetary policy will stay restrictive," but that a pause in further hikes is likely for the near future.
"All eyes will be on (corporate) earnings and the health of the consumer from here," she added.
GSAM had $2.67 trillion in assets under supervision as of the end of the first quarter.
Brad Conger, Conshohocken, Pa.-based deputy CIO at Hirtle Callaghan & Co., said the doves at the Fed who were urging patience have been vindicated.
"We have been underweight duration in fixed income because the long end of the Treasury curve provided too little carry relative to its insurance value," he added by email. "Today's CPI could lead to a dramatic steepening of the curve, which would give us the opportunity to extend duration."
Hirtle Callaghan has $18.5 billion in AUM.
Rhys Williams, Bryn Mawr, Pa.-based chief strategist at Spouting Rock Asset Management, said he thinks the danger now is that the Federal Reserve enacts "one too many rate increases and the soft landing turns into something harder."
He is also skeptical that inflation can really go back to the Fed's 2% target. "Ultimately, the Federal Reserve will have to decide whether an inflation rate under 3% is good enough," he said by email. "We think that the biggest risk to the market is that the Federal Reserve stays firm on its 2% goal and tightens three more times to cause that recession. But for today, the bulls have the wind at their back, and certainly, the Fed could take the position that just keeping rates at current levels will push inflation lower."
On Monday, Loretta J. Mester, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, warned in a speech at the University of California, San Diego that the central bank may need to keep hiking rates as inflation has remained "stubbornly high."
She stated that "in order to ensure that inflation is on a sustainable and timely path back to 2%, my view is that the funds rate will need to move up somewhat further from its current level and then hold there for a while as we accumulate more information on how the economy is evolving."
