Janus May Tack on Fund Fees

January 28, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Janus Capital Group, the Denver-based mutual fund company caught up in the ongoing fund trading scandal, may take the early redemption fee route to discouraging market timing.

Chief operating officer Girard Miller mentioned the possibility of Janus adding fees to some of its funds in a discussion with investors at a New York conference, the Associated Press reported. Such fees typically apply to investors selling shares soon after their purchase and are designed to make it prohibitively expensive for market timers to jump in and out of their investments.

Miller also told the conference that investors have responded well to the company’s decision to pay back customers $31.5 million gained from improper trading.

Denver-based Janus came under scrutiny when New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced a settlement with the Canary Capital hedge fund last fall. Spitzer said Canary had improper trading agreements with Janus and three other fund groups and that Janus allowed large traders to move money in and out of funds quickly – even though its policies discouraged it (See  Spitzer Fund Abuse Probe Pumps Out More Subpoenas  ).

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