Janus Seeks to Boost ‘Growth’ Style Image

Janus Capital Group Inc. said Monday it was adding analysts and would launch three funds next year as it strives to restore its image as a premier “growth” stock investor.

The company will launch the Janus Research Fund in February, which will focus on its analysts’ recommendations. It will also start a small-to-mid-capitalization growth fund and a mathematically driven large-cap fund, said Gary Black, the new chief investment officer at Denver-based Janus.

“What I want Janus to be is that we’re dominant in growth investing, so when the growth cycle turns, we’re there to exploit that opportunity,” Black said at the Merrill Lynch Banking and Financial Services Investor Conference in New York.

Growth stocks are shares of companies whose earnings are expected to increase at an above-average rate. The growth sector, led by technology, dominated the market in the late 1990s. But since then, more conservative “value” investing has led the market, and growth-oriented investors such as Janus have suffered.

Black said growth stocks were poised to rebound. “As the economic recovery takes hold, we think performance will get better,” he said.

Janus shares rose 19 cents to $15.95 on the New York Stock Exchange. They are down about 3% this year.