51.5 F
Laguna Hills
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
-Advertisement-

Pimco Exec Leaving for Janus

By Murray Coleman

A longtime executive from Newport Beach-based Pacific Investment Management Co. is leaving to become chief executive of Denver mutual fund manager Janus Capital Group Inc.

Richard Weil, who now heads a Pimco unit that provides investment consulting to institutional investors, starts in February as chief executive of Janus, which has more than $150 billion under management.

He’ll fill the post vacated in July by Gary Black. Director Tim Armour has been running the company on an interim basis since then.

The 46-year-old Weil served in a number of roles at Pimco in the past 13 years.

Originally trained as a lawyer, Weil’s longest stint was as Pimco’s chief operating officer from 2000 to 2009.

Before joining Pimco, he worked in a legal practice and with Bankers Trust Global Asset Management, now part of Deutsche Bank AG.

Weil faces a challenge.

Black was a well-known mutual funds executive who came to Janus in 2004 as its chief operating officer before being promoted almost a year later.

Black surprised many analysts and investors last summer when he decided to leave. According to reports at the time, Black was thwarted by other board members in his efforts to sell the company.

The new chief takes over a company known for its funds geared toward everyday investors. In recent years, Janus has been expanding its business with pension funds, endowments and other institutional investors.

Some industry observers are critical of Weil’s appointment, saying he isn’t the well-known name many had expected Janus to land after a nearly six-month search.

Weil has a background in dealing with institutional clients at Pimco, which long has served institutional investors with its bond funds and portfolios managed for corporations and wealthy investors.

Weil, who will be the fourth Janus chief in the past decade, also takes over a company that seems to have overcome an earlier slump in many of its largest and most popular funds.

Black was able to rein in the company’s notoriously autonomous money managers, setting up more organizational and centralized investment monitoring.

Janus suffered years of heavy outflows of money as several big funds took big bets that proved unsustainable.

According to analysts at mutual fund tracker Morningstar Inc., such moves to forced managers to be more cautious has helped revive the company’s retail funds.

Want more from the best local business newspaper in the country?

Sign-up for our FREE Daily eNews update to get the latest Orange County news delivered right to your inbox!

-Advertisement-

Featured Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-

Related Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-