Janus Henderson Group will close four investment strategies run by subsidiary Perkins Investment Management, rebrand the three remaining strategies, and lay off Perkins’ operations, compliance and information technology employees later this year, a spokesman said in an emailed statement Friday.
Janus Henderson will close and liquidate the following strategies on April 30: global value, international value, value plus income and U.S. large-cap value. Assets under management in these funds accounted for $1.1 billion of the active value manager’s $8.2 billion of assets as of Dec. 31.
The decision to close the strategies was made after a review of Perkins’ investment strategies in order to “right-size our product portfolio and better align with the changing needs of clients,” the spokesman said.
He added “in connection with the reorganizing effort, the Perkins brand will be wound down and future marketing efforts will be incorporated under the Janus Henderson brand. This reorganization simplifies the structure of Janus Henderson. Brand alignment is a logical step.”
The remaining Perkins strategies — U.S. small-cap value, U.S. midcap value and U.S. smidcap value equity — will remain open and will be renamed under the Janus Henderson brand, the spokesman said.
They also will continue to be managed by their existing Perkins portfolio managers Craig Kempler, Kevin Preloger, Ted Thome and Justin Tugman.
The investment personnel for the liquidating Perkins’ strategies “also will be restructured,” said the spokesman, who did not immediately respond to a request for clarification about what these employees will do.
Gregory R. Kolb Perkins’ CIO and a portfolio manager, and George Maglares, a portfolio manager, will remain with Janus Henderson until May when the Perkins’ funds will have been liquidated, the spokesman said.
The reorganization of Chicago-based Perkins will include more closely integrating the firm’s operational functions with those in Janus Henderson’s Denver office, the spokesman said.
“This means that members of the Perkins operations, compliance and IT team will be departing in May,” the spokesman said. He did not respond to a request for the number of Perkins’ employees who will be leaving the firm.
