Janus Parent to Begin Trading

The parent of the Janus mutual funds, Stilwell Financial, starts trading today on the New York Stock Exchange--arriving as shares of fund managers and brokerages are hot again.

Janus, perhaps the hottest fund company in recent years, might not need strength in its stock peer group to attract investors, of course. But it can’t hurt.

On Wednesday, shares of Stilwell parent Kansas City Southern Industries (KSU), which is spinning off Stilwell to shareholders, jumped $2.94 to $93.75 on the NYSE and traded as high as $95.75, a record.

“I think there has been a lot of upward pressure on the asset management sector,” said Neal Epstein, a vice president in equity research at Putnam Lovell Securities. “Foreign acquisitions of brokers and asset managers have recently underscored the strategic interest in the U.S. market and the scarcity of these properties.”

Kansas City shareholders of record as of June 28 will get two shares of Stilwell for every share of Kansas City they own. They’ll also get half a share in Kansas City’s rail unit. The old KC shares are expected to cease trading.

Stilwell shares will trade under the ticker symbol SV.

Although Janus is “the most visible mutual fund franchise right now,” the spinoff will likely deter any potential buyers of Stilwell for a few years. “If there were a transaction in the next couple of years, it would undermine the tax-free status of the spinoff,” Epstein said.