Janus settled with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar for $225 million Tuesday for having permitted excessive market timing in its funds. The agreement, which was reached in cooperation with the SEC, includes $50 million in restitution, $50 million in civil penalties, $125 million in fee reductions over the next five years and $1 to be held in trust by the Colorado attorney general for investor education and future enforcement.
Following Spitzers initial investigation into Januss role in market timing by Canary Capital last summer, Salazar began his own investigation in October.
"This settlement continues our efforts to level the playing field for mutual fund investors," Spitzer said in a statement. "From now on, market timers will no longer be given special access and permitted to profit at the expense of long-term investors."
Salazar commended Janus for having made a number of governance reforms, including an independent chairman, stricter policies to detect market timing, more transparency in its omnibus accounts and the appointment of a senior officer to ensure that the fees charged by the funds are reasonable.
Janus said the fee reductions represent 1.7% of the companys total assets of $145 billion as of March 31 and will be determined on a fund-by-fund basis in cooperation with Spitzers office.
"These agreements reflect Janus commitment to do whatever is necessary to earn investors confidence," Janus CEO Steve Scheid said in a statement. "We realize our business is built on trust, and were dedicated to upholding the highest ethical standards in everything we do."
