Home ListingMarch 23, 2015

New Janus Unit CEO/CIO Gives Surprise Resignation

Perkins Investment Management chief Jeff Kautz has stepped down after just three months on the job.

Reported by Featured Author

The new CEO/CIO of Janus Capital division Perkins Investment Management has issued his resignation only three months into his tenure.

Jeff Kautz, 46, is set to depart the active equities firm as of April 5, a Janus spokesperson told CIO. His brief stay in Perkins’ C-suite will bring to a close an 18-year career at the firm.

Two portfolio managers have been assigned to take over Kautz’s executive responsibilities, according to Perkins’ parent company.

Next month, Tom Perkins—a founding investor in the company—will become CEO, while also continuing to manage the firm’s mid cap value fund with the help of a colleague. The CIO role is to be filled by Greg Kolb, co-portfolio manager of the global and international value strategies, according to Janus.

“We are taking this opportunity to make changes to the Perkins team, which we believe are positive and will ensure we have the right people in the right positions to deliver improved investment results for clients,” the spokesperson said.

She also noted that the reorganization aims for “improved performance on mid cap value”—a $7.2 billion portfolio that has lagged competitors under the co-management of outgoing CIO/CEO Kautz.

Morningstar ranked the fund in the bottom decile of its peers for year-to-date, three-year, and five-year performance. Over the last 15 years, however, the strategy has beaten more than two-thirds of comparable funds.

Kautz will be replaced as co-manager for the product by Justin Tugman, who recently posted an excellent year investing Perkins’ $1.9 billion small cap value fund.

“The rest of the Perkins portfolio managers are staying and are committed to improved results for clients and the continuity of our team,” the Janus spokesperson said.