Battered mutual fund giant
The struggling foreign stock fund has taken a beating during the three-year bear market and has suffered redemptions following the retirement of long-time portfolio manager Helen Young Hayes. The portfolio currently holds roughly $2.9 billion in assets under management, down from $4.2 billion when it shut its doors in April 1998.
Hayes, a 16-year veteran with the Denver-based fund company, said back in April she would leave the company, handing the reigns of the Overseas fund and the Janus Worldwide fund to other managers.
In May, investors withdrew $132.5 million from the Overseas fund and a net $296.5 million from the Worldwide fund, according to New York-based research and consulting firm
Things have been ugly at Janus the past few years as the beleaguered fund giant has endured a prolonged battle with its parent company Stilwell Financial, which it eventually consumed last year.
On top of that, the firm has been hemorrhaging cash at an alarming rate as its tech-laden portfolios have fizzled and sent investors running for cover. Janus took in $39.7 billion in 2000, but it was downhill from there. In 2001, the company saw net outflows of $11.9 billion, and $14.2 billion in 2002, according to Bostons
During the bull run of the late nineties, a number of Janus equity funds were closed to new investors. Typically, fund companies close funds when assets grow too quickly raising concerns that the influx of cash could prevent managers from finding good places to put their money to work.
Today, only three of its equity funds -- Janus Twenty, Janus Venture and Janus Small-Cap Value -- remain closed to new investors. The company's assets under management now rest at $147.4 billion, though the level has inched up amid a strong rally in stocks.
