Janus Henderson turns to hedge funds and private credit

Struggling money manager Janus Henderson is looking to hedge fund and private credit investments as part of a strategy to revive its fortunes having seen investors withdraw in the region of $130 billion of funds since 2017, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Speaking to Bloomberg in his first interview since taking over as chief executive officer in June, Ali Dibadj, 47, revealed that alternative investments would be a key part of the turnaround strategy for the London-based firm, devised following a months-long review by senior staff members.

That review identified a $20 billion division of the firm that hasn’t received much attention – its liquid-alternatives unit, which is home to several hedge funds. The unit had net inflows of $2 billion into products in 2022 including multi-strategy hedge funds and equity- and commodity-enhanced index funds.

“No one talks about it; no one hears about it,” Dibadj said. “We’re not betting everything on it, but it is one of the roughly 10 things we’re focused on.”