Janus launches global allocation fund

[NEW YORK] Janus Capital Group Inc said on Tuesday it launched a total return fund that invests across global stock and bond markets, developed in part by Nobel Prize winner Myron Scholes whom the firm hired 11 months ago.

Ashwin Alankar, Janus' global head of asset allocation and risk management and Enrique Chang, the firm's chief investment officer of equities and asset allocation, will manage the Janus Adaptive Global Allocation Fund, said the Denver-based investment firm with US$189.7 billion in assets.

"While most investment approaches look for average outcomes, this adaptive global allocation fund seeks to manage outcomes that have the largest impact on growth, namely left and right tail events," Mr Alankar said in a statement.

Mr Scholes, Janus' chief investment strategist, co-led the research and development of the fund with Mr Alankar and will contribute to the overall investment strategy, Janus said.

As a part of its diversification strategy, Janus hired Mr Alankar and Mr Scholes last July to start develop asset allocation products.

A couple of months later, renowned bond investor Bill Gross left Pacific Investment Management that he founded in 1971 and joined Janus to help expand its bond business.

REUTERS