Janus Faces the Music

Gather round, the fund world's Garbo is in town.

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Janus, the Denver-based fund shop best known for growth funds that rode the tech tiger and then got scratched, has sent a cadre of fund managers and analysts to midtown Manhattan. They're here to chat with the press Thursday about the past year and what might be ahead.

Yes, most every fund shop under the sun trots road-weary stock pickers in front of jaded scribblers at this time of year, but unless you've had your head in the sand for a few years, you know this is different.

The folks at Janus don't typically talk much with reporters, despite (or because of) all the attention they've gotten. As the Nasdaq bubble grew, the firm's growth funds loaded up on technology, media and telecom faves such as Cisco, AOL and Nokia. Their outsize picks made them heroes, but those sectors' precipitous tumbles since the peak in March last year has since made them goats. The funds that drew an ocean of cash also drew an ocean of fawning and then venomous ink.

Thursday's lineup includes high-profile managers such as Scott Schoelzel ((JAVLX)Janus Twenty), Warren Lammert ((JAMRX)Janus Mercury) and David Corkins ((JAGIX)Janus Growth & Income), as well as Janus founder and chief executive Tom Bailey. Earlier, we talked with high-yield manager Sandy Rufenacht.

The bottom line is that the millions of folks who've hung on to their Janus shares through this downturn will be happy to stop talking about these managers and start talking to them. Listen in as we do just that.

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