The latest news in investment offerings, financial products and other services relevant to wealth advisors and their clients.

Janus Henderson Investors
London-headquartered asset manager Janus Henderson Investors, which manages about $373 billion in assets, has launched the Janus Henderson Tabula Euro Short Duration Income UCITS ETF (JHES).

The fund aims to provide enhanced yield and capital preservation across various market cycles by investing in an actively managed portfolio of primarily short duration, investment grade debt securities. Investments may be across multiple sectors including certificates of deposit, treasury bills, government and government-related bonds, commercial paper, corporate bonds and ABS/MBS, with a focus on developed markets.

JHES is managed by Daniel Siluk, head of global short duration and liquidity, Addison Maier, portfolio manager on the global short duration and liquidity team, and Tim Winstone, head of investment grade credit. Together they manage $7.1 billion in global short duration strategies, the firm said in a statement.

This is the latest addition to Janus Henderson’s active ETF proposition and the firm’s fourth active fixed income ETF for non-US investors. The fund will initially list on Xetra with ticker JHES and will be available in all major European markets.

“Short duration fixed income is an attractive proposition for investors as it offers higher income potential and the ability to lock-in higher yields if cash rates fall, the opportunity for capital appreciation through moderate use of duration, and exhibits lower volatility and lower interest rate sensitivity than traditional fixed income,” Ignacio De La Maza, head of EMEA & LatAm client group at Janus Henderson, said.

Energy Drive 
Energy Drive, a UK-based provider of zero-capex energy efficiency for large motors in the mining and metals industry, has secured growth investment from The Pears Family, a European family-owned investment holdings group.

The investment of more than £20 million ($27 million) recognises the increase in value attributed to Energy Drive’s expansion and provides investment capacity from a major international investor, the firm said in a statement. This reflects the expansion of the business from its origins in South Africa into North America and Europe.

Energy Drive deploys intelligent motor control via E-Houses, powered by proprietary technology, engineering expertise, and data to optimise the performance of industrial-scale motors. The E-House automatically optimises a motor’s energy usage while meeting all operational and safety requirements, reducing energy consumption of motors by 43 per cent on average. They are installed and operated as-a-service by Energy Drive requiring no capital expenditure or ongoing maintenance cost for the operator, while delivering both operating cost savings and carbon abatement.

With the support of The Pears Family and Pears Partnership Capital, Energy Drive said it will accelerate its international expansion and development in new heavy industry sectors as a service provider.

"We have built a great relationship with the team at Energy Drive and have been very impressed with the business. We are delighted to be able to support Energy Drive in the next stage of its growth and see significant market opportunity globally,” Joe Evans, managing director at Pears Partnership Capital, said. Pears Partnership Capital acts as an advisor to the Pears family in originating, arranging and overseeing direct private equity investments in operating businesses.