No one fund firm has suffered more from the tech wreck than Janus. The firm built itself into the third largest fund provider behind Fidelity and Vanguard by the time the Nasdaq bubble bursted in April of 2000. The question since then has been how Janus will survive without performance to goose its sales.

The firm claims investors have been remaining on board and it is mostly deflating asset values that are removing the funds from its funds. Unfortunately, Janus is still losing its asset based revenues whether or not investors are pulling out.

In response it turns out that Janus has been cutting staff even as it tries to build new distribution channels through brokers and institutions.

The firm revealed in an SEC filing this week that that not did it layoff more than a thousand workers in 2001 (the exact figure is 1,069). It also eliminated another 550 jobs through attrition. Altogether, Janus had 1,450 workers at the end of 2001 after starting the year with 3,100.

That the firm is slimming down is not a surprise. Altogether, the job reductions are in-line with the decline in assets at the firm. What may be lost through the cuts, though, is Janus' ability to challenge the twin pillars of Vanguard and Fidelity.

Both of those rivals are busy creating technology to expand their product lines and distribution while the going is tough. Those investments are vital to retaining the large corporate client base fuels their business.

One example of the cost represented in lost employees was the resignation this week of Stuart Novek, chief marketing officer. The firm said that he is being replaced by Robin Berry, who is currently vice president of retail marketing at Janus. Novek's last day is April 5.  

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