On May 02, 2024, Tabula Investment Management and Janus Henderson Group announced that they had entered into an agreement under which Janus Henderson would acquire Tabula Investment Management. The acquisition is expected to be completed at the end of Q2 2024, as the transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
According to the press release, the acquisition builds on Janus Henderson’s successful active ETF proposition in the U.S., where it is the fourth largest provider of actively managed fixed income ETFs by assets under management.
From a product point of view, Janus Henderson expects to retain all existing Tabula products and will utilize the platform to launch a range of new active products. From my perspective, this means that the European ETF industry may witness a significant product push with regard to active fixed income ETFs once the takeover is finalized at the corporate level.
In more detail, the takeover means that Janus Henderson is now able to use the existing Tabula platform and distribution network to launch UCITS ETFs and distribute these products in all markets where UCITS products are eligible for local sales registrations. With regard to this, buying an existing European ETF platform might be a shortcut for (non-European) ETF providers to enter the fragmented European ETF market. However, buying an existing ETF platform might be good starting point to enter the European ETF market but it needs way more efforts to succeed in the very competitive environment of the European ETF industry. That said, Janus Henderson has the advantage of a broad distribution network for mutual funds in Europe and should, therefore, know what is needed to succeed in the different European markets.
As takeovers are a sign of a maturing industry, this acquisition might rather become a booster for the rise of active managed ETFs than the beginning of a wider consolidation in the European ETF industry.
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice.
The views expressed are the views of the author, not necessarily those of Refinitiv Lipper or LSEG.
