As Growth Stocks Cool, Janus to Offer New Global Value Portfolio

In a move that gives credence to the argument that U.S. growth stocks are due for a breather, growth-fund titan Janus filed paperwork for the new Janus Adviser Global Value fund and the Janus Aspen Global Value fund with regulators on Valentine's Day.

As usual, the Denver fund shop is designing the funds, set for a May 1 launch, to have wide parameters. According to the funds' filings, portfolio manager Jason Yee can invest in companies of any size, anywhere in the world, focusing on stocks he believes are selling below their intrinsic worth. (Growth funds typically are less focused on intrinsic worth and are willing to pay more for stocks of faster-growing companies.) He can invest up to 100% of the fund's assets in foreign stocks, bonds or stocks in just one country. That said, the fund will typically hold stocks from at least five countries, including the U.S., according to its preliminary prospectus. The fund is also nondiversified, meaning Yee can make big bets on individual sectors and stocks.

Yee worked as an analyst at Janus from 1992 to 1996 but left the firm to work as a portfolio manager with Bee & Associates, a Denver money management firm owned by Denver Investment Advisors. Yee rejoined Janus last April, according to the filing, which doesn't list any previous experience running a retail mutual fund. ...