As part of a strategic partnership between the firms, the Gurdian Life Insurance Co. of America will provide $100 million in seed capital to a new active fixed-income exchange-traded fund from Janus Henderson.
The Janus Henderson AA-A CLO ETF, ticker symbol JA, will seek to provide access to AA- to A-rated collateralized loan obligations, building on its suite of securitized ETFs. The fund will be managed by John Kerschner, Nick Childs and Jessica Shill.
“Securitized markets are proving to be a bright spot for investors right now—offering competitive yields and diversification,” Kerschner said in a statement. “JA seeks to allow investors to position portfolios for resilience and growth in an evolving economic landscape. Given the strong demand for Janus Henderson’s leading CLO ETFs, we’re excited to offer clients access to another segment of the CLO market.”
In April 2025, the firms announced a partnership in which Janus Henderson manages Guardian Life’s $45 billion investment-grade fixed-income portfolio. Guardian Life also committed to providing $400 million to support Janus Henderson’s fixed-income product development.
The latest ETF is the second between Guardian Life and Janus Henderson, according to a spokesperson for Janus Henderson. In July 2025, Guardian Life seeded the Janus Henderson’s JABS asset-based-securities ETF.
The ETF field has become increasingly crowded with asset managers launching products. There are currently more ETFs than there are listed stocks in the U.S., according to data from Morningstar. Asset managers are turning to partnerships and acquisitions to bolster their ETF offerings.
Institutional investors are interested in seeding ETFs for several reasons, CIO previously reported. Among them are the ability to negotiate favorable fees and have a say in the direction of the fund’s strategy and the ability to gain lower-risk access to a new strategy through an actively managed fund that can be easily liquidated.
In August 2025, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System provided $2 billion in seed funding for a high-yield ETF from J.P. Morgan. In January 2025, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia provided $200 million in seed funding for a Saudi sovereign bond ETF from State Street.
In December 2025, Goldman Sachs Asset Management announced the acquisition of ETF provider Innovator Capital Management in a deal that will add $28 billion in ETF assets to Goldman’s assets under management when completed.
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Tags: ETFs, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, Janus Henderson