Janus Financial Chief Resigns

Steven Goodbarn, chief financial officer at Janus Capital, the Denver-based manager of the popular Janus family of mutual funds, stepped down on Friday after eight years in that post.

Janus filed a prospectus amendment on Monday, stating that Goodbarn is "no longer Vice President and Chief Financial Officer" of the funds. Goodbarn, 43, was an officer of Janus Funds, but he didn't manage any. He'd been CFO since joining the firm in 1992.

"Steven resigned on Friday to pursue other interests," said Janus spokeswoman Jane Ingalls.

Goodbarn's departure comes at a time of transition for Janus -- on the heels of chief investment officer Jim Craig's resignation and the firm's spinoff from Kansas City Southern (Janus, Berger Funds and DST Systems are now known as Stilwell Financial(SV).) Given that Goodbarn's post was not related to investment management, however, it's unlikely that his departure would directly affect the management of any Janus funds.

Janus, whose tech-heavy funds posted outsize returns over the past couple of years, is the top-selling fund shop this year even though nearly half of its direct-sold stock funds are closed to new investors. The firm, whose funds have mostly cooled this year, has doubled its assets over the past 12 months, according to Boston-based fund consultant Financial Research.

Goodbarn joined Janus after working at big accounting shop PriceWaterhouse, now PricewaterhouseCoopers. A search for his replacement is under way.

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