Janus Adds Vice President and Director to Financial Institutions Team

Janus Capital Group Inc. appointed Edward DeMarino as vice president and director of Financial Institutions. 

According to the announcement, DeMarino is responsible for the sales and servicing of designated insurance and asset management accounts on the East Coast. In this role, he will work closely with the firm’s clients to build on strategic relationships and ensure the delivery of a superior client experience. He reports to Chris Furman, vice president and managing director of Financial Institutions.  

 “Ed brings a wealth of industry knowledge to the table and enables us to continue to meet the specialized and evolving needs of our diverse Financial Institutions client base,” said Furman. “Although we’ve long had a first-rate sales and servicing team, he is an important part of the continued expansion of our Financial Institutions team.”  

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Prior to joining Janus, DeMarino spent five years as a vice president with Fidelity Investments’ Institutional Insurance group, where he was responsible for gathering assets with insurance company clients through placements in variable annuity and 401(k) products. He has 16 years of experience in the financial services industry, including more than 11 years with MFS Institutional Advisors and MFS Fund Distributors.  

American Express Cleared in Stock-Drop Case

A federal judge in New York threw out a stock-drop lawsuit against the American Express Company.

U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl of the Southern District of New York ruled that fiduciaries under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) are not mandated to delete a company stock investment option if the plan document calls for it to be included in a retirement savings program.

Koeltl also pointed out that even if fiduciaries of American Express’s plan had fiduciary duty to consider regarding the company’s stock, the plaintiffs would still not be able to overcome the presumption of prudence.

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The court said that while American Express stock dropped 78% during the period covered by the suit, the company continued to have earnings and income, and the stock price has since rebounded significantly.

Not only that, Koeltl said, American Express’s decision to lay off 10% of its staff during the period, and to take $3 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program funds, did not indicate a company facing financial collapse or other dire situations.

American Express was hit with four lawsuits in 2008 and 2009 after its stock lost nearly 78% of its value during the subprime mortgage and credit crisis. The lawsuits, which were later consolidated, alleged that fiduciaries of American Express’s pension plan breached their duties by hanging on to the stock as its value plummeted.

The case is In re American Express Co. ERISA Litigation, SDNY, No. 08-10834 (JGK).

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