e-fundresearch: Mr Jim Goff, you are the Portfolio Manager of the Janus Global research Fund (ISIN: IE00B1187Y20) and Director of Research. Since when are your responsible for the fund management?
Goff: Since April 2006.
e-fundresearch: Which benchmark do you adhere to?
Goff: MSCI World Growth Index is the primary benchmark
e-fundresearch: Are you also responsible for other funds at the moment?
Goff: Yes, the Janus US Research Fund
e-fundresearch: What is the total assets that you manage in all your funds?
Goff: The total assets that we manage across both funds and strategies covering institutional and financial institutions is in excess of $1.2 billion.
e-fundresearch: Regarding the performance: which performance did you achieve since the beginning of the year and in the years 2006-2010? Absolutely and relatively to the relevant benchmark?
Goff: 2006 The Fund inception date was 24th April 2006
2007 The Fund returned 26.32% compared to the benchmark of 14.76% for the benchmark
2008 The Fund returned -46.25% compared to the benchmark of -41.13% for the benchmark
2009 The Fund returned 39.44% compared to the benchmark of 33.27%
2010 The Fund returned 16.77% compared to the benchmark of 14.50%
All figures as of 31 July 2011 and cover A shares.
e-fundresearch: How content are you with your own performance in the last years’ and this year?
Goff: Performance has been strong and we have significantly outperformed the benchmark in all years since the fund’s inception in 2006.
The performance year to date for the Janus Global Research Fund (as of July 2011) is a return of 1.64 % against the MSCI World Growth Index of 4.16%. The detractors to the annual performance to date have been holdings in technology and consumer discretionary.
e-fundresearch: How long have you been a fund manager already?
Goff: I have been the named fund manager since the inception of our research funds.
e-fundresearch: How do you assess the current situation?
Goff: The market is dealing with uncertainty around dual debt crises, in the U.S. and Europe. We think that these uncertainties may cause volatile markets and perhaps corporations to pause before investing. Should the problems linger, we could see sustainable problems but we expect some solutions that allow corporate progress to continue. Earnings for the second quarter have generally been in line but we do note some caution in corporate guidance.
We believe the macro-economic environment is shrouding the micro-economic environment. Pay attention to the micro. We’re not naïve. We know that macro trends persist and that – as we saw in 2008 – real global financial crises matter. We don’t see that type of disaster again. These micro winds are calmer. The future for successful investing rests with a long-term focus on identifying key business trends and value creators and in avoiding distractions. We take comfort in knowing our skill here. Remember, too, that 2010 turned out to be a good year for equities despite concerns of a European contagion.
We continue to favour high-quality growth companies, which continue to generally garner narrow premiums to slower growing businesses. As an economic recovery moves along, the growth opportunities will be greater for companies with solid business models and attractive competitive situations.
e-fundresearch: What objectives do you have till the end of the year and in the mid term for the upcoming 3 to 5 years?
Goff: We remain disciplined despite short term market issues. Our mid and long-term objectives are to ensure that we address short-term performance issues to continue our strong long-term performance.
Three key aspects define and differentiate Janus. First is our intensive research process. Second is our high conviction investment approach. We let the strength of our research drive our portfolios, not the weight of the index. Third, we provide a risk framework to highlight the power of stock selection and to control unintended risks. Our strong risk-adjusted returns in this product stem from combining these strengths.
Our goal of the fund is to create excess returns from the strength of our stock picking and is evident in the strength of our research. Global Research is a team-managed, best ideas portfolio. We make sure that the portfolio structure highlights our stock selection and investment highlights our stock selection and investment insights but does so in a way that controls risk.
e-fundresearch: Thank you for the interview!
