Janus Has Gotten Tangled in Its Veil of Secrecy
By James J. Cramer
04/25/2002 13:32
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For years, mutual funds have hidden behind arcane laws that allow them to reveal their holdings only twice a year. That kind of secrecy worked well when all was good.
Now I find it hysterically out of date. Hysterically out of date and terrible for, of all people, the mutual fund managers.
Take two stocks that weigh heavily on my mind, Tyco TYC and AOL Time Warner AOL . I keep hearing that Janus has been selling these stocks, which are huge holdings in Janus funds.
If that is the case, it would be amazingly beneficial for Janus to admit this fact. Right now, Janus gets tarnished as being among the biggest holders of these two "total losers" -- the market's term, not mine. If Janus had been selling, they would be hailed as good guys. If Janus managers were out of these stocks, they would be hailed as geniuses.
Right now Janus gets the worst of all possible worlds. No one wants to own these stocks because Janus might be selling. No one wants to own shares in Janus funds because the group's managers were so stupid as to be among the biggest shareholders during the decline. Janus loses both ways.
Janus ought to rethink the way it "adheres" to these rules. It ought to put out a release stating that it has sold all those shares, or bought them, or something. Right now, though, the silence is deadening.
For them. |
