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Janus Twenty Manager Calls Earlier Sales Decisions `Foolish'
Washington, Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Scott Schoelzel, manager of the top-performing Janus Twenty Fund, described as ``foolish' his decision to sell shares earlier this year in companies such as America Online Inc.
In a shareholders report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Schoelzel said the fund's $36 billion portfolio came under pressure as investors began to rethink some of the fundamental assumptions supporting many investment themes at Janus Twenty.
``My own confidence wavered some during this period,' Schoelzel said in the shareholders report for the year ended Oct. 31. ``In retrospect, I made some decisions that now seem foolish.'
These regrets notwithstanding, Schoelzel still turned in an exemplary performance compared with many peers. Janus Twenty fund has generated a total return of 60 percent this year, ranking it among the top 10 percent of large-cap growth funds, according to Russ Kinnel, an analyst at Morningstar Inc., the Chicago-based information company that tracks mutual fund performance.
The fund invests primarily in common stocks selected for growth potential, normally concentrating its investments in a core group of 20 to 30 common stocks.
Janus Twenty added to its Internet and computer holdings in some areas, in one instance acquiring 365,975 shares in Akamai Technologies Inc., which went public in October at $26 per share and since has soared to close today at 281 7/16. The shareholder report disclosed that the fund cut its stake in Dell Computer Corp. and sold its stake in eBay Inc.
AOL Sales
The primary example cited by Schoelzel was his sale of shares in AOL, the Dulles, Virginia, company that ranks as the world's largest Internet service. Janus Twenty held 35.6 million America Online shares on Oct. 31 -- adjusted for a subsequent stock split -- compared to 54.6 million on April 30, according to shareholder reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Without providing specifics, Schoelzel said in the report that he became too focused on some shorter-term issues related to AOL. He trimmed the Janus Twenty's stake in AOL, according to the report, only to see the share price drop further and then rebound.
America Online shares traded as high as 73 13/16 on April 30. During the ensuing six months, the shares dropped as low as 38 15/32 in August, and then rose back to 64 21/32 by the end of October. The shares fell 1 3/8 today to 81 3/8.
The fund's analysts saved the day, though, according to Schoelzel, a graduate of Colorado College who has seven years of investment management experience. They had a firm grip on AOL's fundamentals, the report said, and Janus Twenty ended up keeping a large part of its AOL stake.
`Good Sense'
``Despite my attempts to separate shareholders from their money in AOL,' the report said, ``we did have the good sense to hold on to the bulk of the position.'
America Online remained Janus Twenty's largest holding as of Oct. 31, representing 8 percent of net assets. That compares to 14.8 percent of net assets at April 30.
Janus is based in Denver and manages a total of $220 billion in mutual fund assets. The company is owned by Kansas City Southern Inc.
Dec/23/1999 16:29 |
