Janus Capital's acquisition Monday of VS Holdings, the parent company of VelocityShares, a provider of unique institutionally focused exchange-traded products, including exchange-traded funds, should serve as a "platform" for new Janus hire Bill Gross to "roll out fixed-income ETFs," says Morningstar analyst Gregg Warren.
While VelocityShares held "a rather small" $2 billion in assets under management at the end of September, Warren says, the acquisition also will allow Janus to expand its reach to institutional clients.
Indeed, Janus Capital CEO Richard Weil said in a Monday statement that the $30 million acquisition positions Janus "within the rapidly growing rules-based and active ETF universe, enhancing the customized solutions we can provide to our clients and enabling us to work with the growing segment of financial advisors and institutions focused on these instruments."
A Janus spokesman told ThinkAdvisor in an email message that while Janus does not currently offer ETFs, "Janus expects to bring new, innovative exchange-traded products to market over time utilizing its global macro and other fixed income, liquid alternative and asset allocation disciplines."
Janus' acquisition of VelocityShares, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, "is a continuation of our strategy of 'intelligent diversification,' adding new talent to support innovation and smart solutions for our clients," Weil added in the statement.
Janus had nearly $178 billion in assets under management at the end of the second quarter.
VelocityShares, managed by Nick Cherney, Richard Hoge and Steve Quinn and headquartered in Darien, Connecticut, has 11 employees, many of whom are ETF industry veterans and have extensive product development, product structuring and sales experience.
