Janus Henderson Appoints Directors for Alts, OCIO, Insurance Client Coverage

Janus Henderson Investors announced Monday hiring three directors in its specialized institutional client coverage groups across insurance, OCIO and financial institutions and alternatives clients.

The new leaders, who joined the firm in recent months, will work closely with institutional clients to deliver differentiated investment capabilities and customized products aligned to market demands and portfolio objectives, the firm stated.

Sanaz Maleki, a director of institutional sales, will focus on the firm’s insurance client coverage. Kevin Smith, a director of institutional sales, will focus on outsourced CIO and financial institutions’ coverage. They will report to Aaron Kilberg, head of North America institutional sales.

Chris Castano, managing director, alternative institutional sales, is focusing on alternatives client engagement and solutions. He will report to Kelly Cavagnaro, head of the firm’s North America institutional client group.

Maleki, who has 18 years of financial industry experience, was previously vice president of institutional insurance investment and insurance at Nuveen.

Smith, who has 26 years of financial industry experience, was a managing director for Participant Capital and previously a director at Crossbay Capital Partners LLC.

Castano, who has 25 years of financial industry experience, had been head of sales and distribution at Sextant Capital Solutions and prior to that, managing director, business development and head of wealth at GCM Grosvenor.

“These appointments underscore our commitment to strengthening specialized coverage across important institutional client segments,” Cavagnaro said in a statement. “As clients’ needs become increasingly sophisticated, we are continuing to invest in experienced talent that can provide strategic partnership, thoughtful investment solutions, and dedicated sector expertise.”

The announcement said the appointments were part of Janus Henderson’s “broader strategy to deepen relationships with institutional investors through more focused and consultative engagement models.”

In February, Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America announced a strategic partnership with Janus Henderson, including $100 million in seed capital to a new active fixed-income exchange-traded fund from the asset manager. Guardian Life also seeded Janus Henderson’s JABS asset-based-securities ETF in July 2025.

Janus Henderson Group had approximately $480 billion in assets under management as of March 31. In December, Janus Henderson accepted an all-cash, $7.4 billion acquisition offer from Trian Fund Management L.P., which had already owned about 20% of its shares, and General Catalyst Group Management LLC.