Janus looks to hire new institutional-business boss

Janus Capital Inc. has launched a search for a new head of its offshore business, Janus Capital Group International. The hire will replace Dan Charles, the former executive vice president and managing director of Janus’ U.S. institutional business and head of Janus Capital Group International, who left last month to join William Blair Investment Management, where he is the head of global distribution. Robin Beery, executive vice president and head of the firm’s U.S. intermediary business, has taken the helm of the institutional business, said James Aber, a spokesman. It has not yet been determined if the firm will hire someone to take on those responsibilities, he said. Currently Richard M. Weil, Janus’ new CEO, is taking over for Janus Capital Group International until a hire is made, Mr. Aber said. Mr. Charles is the first executive to leave Janus since Mr. Weil, a Pimco veteran took over in January. Since coming onboard, Mr. Weil has been busy learning the business and has not made any announcements of major changes at the firm, Gibson Smith, co-chief investment officer and portfolio manager at Janus, said in an interview. “He is learning about our bottom-up research approach,” Mr. Smith said. Over the past couple of years, Janus has been focused on communicating with advisers about how the company has changed since the dot-com bust in 2001, he said. The firm, for instance, has been inviting advisers to due diligence events, where they can meet the firm’s portfolio managers and analysts and learn more about its investment approach. For example, today Janus covers 1,400 stocks, up from 500 in 2000, Mr. Smith said. Also, the firm has integrated its fixed income and equity teams so that they can communicate with each other more. “We stepped back and looked at what we did best and then we focused on that,” Mr. Smith said.