The news broke in the final week of 2025 and sent shockwaves through the industry: Trian Fund Management and General Catalyst announced the acquisition of Janus Henderson for $7.4 billion. At the time, company spokespeople issued a message of reassurance that, from Spain, the firm’s Head of Sales for Iberia, Martina Álvarez, fully endorsed: “The acquisition by Trian and Catalyst puts us in a very privileged position for the strategy we were already implementing,” she stated during a recent press breakfast held in Madrid.
Both Trian and Catalyst bring “a strong focus on growth,” which in the expert’s words translates into “high demands,” but also a commitment to continue investing in “the business, in clients, and in employees.”
Álvarez took the opportunity to reiterate that the vision Janus Henderson has been developing in recent years, and which remains fully in force, is to “invest in a better future together,” structured around three pillars: protect and grow, product innovation, and diversification.
A strategy based on three pillars.
On the first pillar, the Head of Sales referred to the company’s ambitious growth targets focused exclusively on its asset management business, and added: “We have the right to be ambitious: the firm already manages nearly $500 billion in assets globally and close to $5 billion in Spain.” The areas where they are targeting the most growth, the expert explained, include thematic investing (with the Global Life Sciences and Global Technology Leaders strategies as flagships), small caps, European and U.S. equities, and absolute return.
In terms of product innovation, Álvarez specifically highlighted the company’s strong commitment to active ETFs, a segment where it is already a leader in the U.S. and one it has been rapidly expanding in Europe since last year. The firm has already registered 8 active ETFs in the region, collectively managing $1 billion in assets.
A standout among them is the firm’s active ETF focused on AAA-rated CLOs (JAAA), which has ranked among the top 5 fastest-growing active ETFs in Europe. Remarkably, it is the only one among the five that has been on the market for less than a year, during which it has attracted $350 million in inflows. Álvarez described this active ETF push as a way to “broaden our strengths,” while noting it is “where we see the greatest demand from our clients.”
Finally, under the diversification pillar, the Sales Head spoke specifically about “diversifying where clients give us the right to do so.” The firm has been highly active in corporate transactions; Álvarez noted that more than 70 potential deals were evaluated last year alone, though only two acquisitions materialized: one of a private debt specialist in Chicago, and another in the Middle East. The expert added that the asset manager is preparing to register its private debt strategies in Luxembourg soon.
Secondly, the firm has also been active in signing strategic agreements with insurance companies, an area where Álvarez anticipates “strong growth in the U.S. and Europe.”
Thirdly, the firm is focused on developing and launching products specifically designed for distribution through private banks, such as the recently launched Janus Henderson Global IG CLO Active Core UCITS, a fund managed by John Kerschner, the firm’s Global Head of Securitized Products. This product offers exposure to U.S. and European CLOs with investment-grade ratings, focusing particularly on BBB-rated securities to enhance income potential. Martina Álvarez emphasized this shift toward the wealth channel as a sign of Janus Henderson’s growth and evolution: “Ten years ago, it would have been unthinkable for a private bank to choose us as a partner.”
The expert added that the firm expects to further innovate in products “if we receive requests from private banks and it makes sense for us.” Along these lines, she also highlighted Janus Henderson’s long-running training initiatives; for example, she mentioned the firm has signed an agreement to train 350 private bankers in CLOs by 2026.
“We want to understand our clients much better, and that leads us to greater personalization,” the expert concluded.
Lastly, looking ahead to 2026 and anticipating a macroeconomic scenario of persistent inflation, the Head of Sales explained that the asset manager is recommending clients definitively exit cash products and rotate toward investment solutions that provide a higher level of income. She specifically mentioned the Multisector Income strategy, as well as the firm’s short-term fixed income offering with a global approach.
