Funds Notebook: Marsico's No Janus, but Investors Don't Care

Life after Janus has been good for investors who followed Tom Marsico to his new mutual fund company. But it could be better.

You'd have to be fairly deep in the "half-empty" crowd to say this, but there's one nagging catch in the returns posted by his Marsico Capital (MFOCX Quote)Focus and (MGRIX Quote)Growth & Income funds: Both are lagging behind Marsico's old Janus funds over the past year.

Marsico, 44, is one of the fund world's brightest stars. He built a solid reputation managing (JAVLX Quote)Janus Twenty (February 1988-August 1997) and (JAGIX Quote)Janus Growth & Income funds (June 1991-August 1997). Investors who followed him to his new shop might have fared a bit better if they stayed put. But it's hard to complain because his new and old funds are all beating the S&P 500 index. ...