Antares Equities veteran resigns ahead of Janus Henderson takeover

Antares Equities' portfolio manager and head of fundamentals will conclude a long-serving tenure at the firm and will not transition to its soon-to-be parent company Janus Henderson.

John Guadagnuolo has been with Antares Equities for 18 years. He joined Antares in 2007 when it was Portfolio Partners as an investment manager, working with Andrew Hamilton, who was the head of research at the time. Hamilton was appointed to his current role of head of implementation in 2021.

Guadagnuolo previously worked at Equity Trustees where he developed and ran the Australian equity research and portfolio construction processes.

He was the portfolio manager of the EQT Flagship Fund, operational head of the asset management team and a member of the investment management committee where he was responsible for asset allocation research.

Guadagnuolo was the portfolio manager of the Ex-20 Australian Equities Fund, which has now terminated, and the Ex-20 Model Portfolio. For the Elite Opportunities Fund, he serves as deputy portfolio manager.

While core investment team members are moving to Janus Henderson, three members including Guadagnuolo, will not transition, Antares said in an investor note.

"This corporate transition does not affect either the Antares Fixed Income or Fairview Equity Partners businesses," Antares wrote.

In a statement to Financial Standard a Janus Henderson spokesperson did not confirm who the other two members exiting are but said: "The large majority of the Antares Equities investment team is expected to join Janus Henderson as part of the transaction. Janus Henderson remains committed to the ongoing management of the Antares Equities strategies transitioning from Insignia."

"The transaction is expected to complete in Q4 2026, subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions."

In the process of being acquired by Janus Henderson from Insignia Financial, Antares's fixed income and equities units, and Insignia's 40% stake in boutique manager Fairview Equity Partners will also be divested in the deal. The sum was not disclosed.

The Antares Fixed Income team is set to integrate into Janus Henderson's existing Australian fixed interest business. Fairview will continue to operate independently as a boutique small-cap manager.

In 2008, Aviva Investors announced Portfolio Partners and 10 other asset management businesses owned by Aviva, would operate under the one umbrella. MLC acquired Aviva Investors Australia in October 2011 and rebranded it to Antares.