IF ANYONE had any doubts about the impact of index funds on global fund managers, they don’t now. Two of the world’s leading independent asset managers, Janus Capital and Henderson, are merging in a $2.6bn all-share deal. They are not a natural fit culturally. Henderson was started in London in 1934 to manage the estate of Alexander Henderson, the first Baron Faringdon. I wonder what the baron would have made of Tom Bailey, who founded Janus in Denver, Colorado, back in 1969. Forget the images of Dynasty that will pop into the minds of us baby boomers when we think of Denver. Instead of Joan Collins in shoulder pads, think tobacco-chewing cowboys. Bailey was notorious for a raucous golf weekend known as the Bob Dope Classic. Janus was riding high in the 1980s and 1990s. It made a virtue of the remoteness of Denver from the noise of Wall Street, especially in the early years before e-mail. I don’t think its funds were ever registered in SA, but I did go to an underground presentation...

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