PULLING THE PLUG: Janus Henderson Says Goodbye to Quant Investor Intech Investment Management
Posted on 02/03/2022
Intech Investment Management LLC is a West Palm Beach, Florida-based quant equity manager. Intech Investment Management completed a management buyout from Janus Henderson Group plc. The transaction is expected to close before the end of the first half of 2022. Upon completion of the transaction, Intech Investment Management will become a fully independent company. Intech will be 100% owned by the company’s founder, employees, and board members. For Janus Henderson, quantitative funds generate lower fees than actively managed funds. Janus Henderson saw US$ 5.2 billion of net outflows in the fourth quarter 2021. This capped the 17th straight quarter of outflows for the asset manager.
As part of the transaction, Intech will form a new board of directors chaired by Churchill Franklin, Co-founder and former CEO of Acadian Asset Management. Additionally, Intech is announcing a new CEO. Jose Marques, PhD, former Head of Trading at Bridgewater Associates, and current CEO of Entrypoint Capital, will become CEO of Intech, overseeing the company’s overall operations, including directing agendas, driving profitability, managing organizational structure, strategy, and communicating with the board. Dr. Marques will also join the board as a director. Adrian Banner, PhD, will transition from his role as CEO and become dedicated CIO of Intech, fortifying the company’s focus on portfolio management and research. He will continue to serve on the board. Intech was founded as Enhanced Investment Technologies.
As of December 31, 2021, Intech managed US$ 38 billion. Intech had $47.3 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2009. At the end of March 2019, Intech had around US$ 50 billion in AUM.
A Dream for Janus
Janus Capital Group needed to boost AUM in the 2000s. The firm saw promise in Intech. In April 2007, Janus Capital Group increased its stake in Intech by 4% to approximately 86.5%, an increase worth US$ 81 million. In 2006, Janus increased its stake by 5% to 82.5%. Intech represented 37% of Janus’ funds under management at the end December 2006. In 2009, Intech faced outflows due to performance reasons. In the second quarter of 2019, of the US$ 9.8 billion in outflows experienced by Janus Henderson, the firm attributed US$ 4.1 billion to “longer-term performance weaknesses” at Intech.
Nelson Peltz
Activist investor Nelson Peltz is pushing for change at Janus Henderson. Nelson Peltz is its largest shareholder (almost at 17%). On February 1, 2022, Nelson Peltz and Ed Garden of Trian Partners joined as Independent Non-Executive Directors at Janus Henderson. Peltz started to press for change more than a year ago.