Janus Henderson UK Responsible Income: May 2026 fund update

• Manager Andrew Jones is supported by an experienced and collegiate team of fund managers and analysts

• He invests in companies with proven business models and good management teams generating resilient profits and cash flows

• The fund’s exclusions criteria mean we expect it to perform differently to the broader UK stock market and its peers in the IA UK Equity Income sector

• The fund is on the Wealth Shortlist of funds chosen by our analysts for their long-term performance potential

How it fits in a portfolio

The Janus Henderson UK Responsible Income fund aims to provide a good level of income alongside capital growth over the long term. It’s different to most other funds in the IA UK Equity Income sector as it avoids companies some may find unethical. Some of these areas, such as tobacco and oil & gas companies, feature heavily in traditional equity income funds because of their relatively high dividends. This fund could therefore offer some diversification to a traditional equity income fund or be a good addition to a responsible portfolio aiming to provide an income.

Manager

Andrew Jones has managed this fund since January 2012 and has more than two decades of experience managing UK equity income funds. He started his career at Invesco Perpetual in 1995 and in 2005 joined Henderson as a portfolio manager on the UK Equities Team.

Alongside the UK Responsible Income fund, Jones co-manages the Janus Henderson Global Equity Income and Global Responsible Managed funds. We think this is a reasonable workload, and there’s some natural overlap between these funds.

Jones is supported by backup manager David Smith. Smith has over 20 years of financial experience and has been a portfolio manager on the global equity income team since 2008.

Jones also has support from the wider Janus Henderson Global Equity Income team and a team of analysts, many of whom cover UK companies. Janus Henderson’s collaborative culture means Jones can make the most of the experience around him and we think he is resourced to do his job well.

Process

The fund mainly focuses on dividend-paying UK companies. The focus is on large and medium-sized companies, although the manager has the flexibility to invest in higher-risk smaller companies too.

The investment process starts by excluding companies with significant involvement in areas some investors consider unethical, such as alcohol, armaments, gambling, non-medical animal testing, nuclear power, tobacco and fossil fuel power generation. All investments must also be compliant with the UN Global Compact (a United Nations pact on human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption).

From the remaining universe, Jones looks for companies with proven and understandable business models, high-quality management teams and strong positions in their industries. He thinks about how the company defends its position through competitive advantages like brand strength and intellectual property, and whether those advantages can endure over time. He also likes companies in a strong financial position with plenty of cash flow, allowing them to reinvest for future growth, while at the same time rewarding shareholders with rising dividends.

Finally, he considers the company’s valuation (whether its share price reflects its longer-term potential yet), applying a range of valuation techniques that are relevant to the company and the industry it operates in.

Like all funds in the IA UK Equity Income sector, Jones can invest up to 20% of the fund outside of the UK. The manager uses this to access areas that aren’t available in the UK, or to add diversification during times of uncertainty. The amount invested outside of the UK is currently low at 3.9% of the fund, reflecting the amount of opportunities Jones sees in the UK market.

Jones has made a number of changes to the fund over the last year. He sold asset management company Schroders following a takeover bid from US investment manager Nuveen. He also sold technology company Spectris and industrial company Hays.

Jones also made several new investments. This includes financials companies Standard Chartered and HSBC. He also added to some existing investments including technology company RELX and property investment company Shaftesbury Capital.

Culture

Janus Henderson is a large investment firm with offices all over the world. It was formed in 2017 from the merger of two long-established groups – US-based Janus Capital Group and Henderson Global Investors.

It values experience and sharing knowledge and ideas between investment teams is an important part of the culture. Managers have the flexibility to tap into the wider group’s resources for ideas and insights but also have the freedom to do their own research and form their own views without having a ‘house view’ placed on them.

ESG Integration

Janus Henderson aims to be a responsible steward of investors’ money, and Environmental Social Governance (ESG) is an important part of this. All fund managers have access to ESG scoring models and customised ESG research, but the firm believes ESG considerations should go beyond examining numbers. Company site visits, speaking to workers and questioning company management are just some of the ways fund managers are expected to actively assess a company’s ESG credentials

Investment teams across Janus Henderson actively engage with the companies they invest in, and the firm’s longstanding Responsible Investment & Governance team provides centralised support on voting and engagement.

When it comes to voting, Janus Henderson has a Proxy Voting Committee, which is responsible for establishing the firm’s position on major voting issues and creating guidelines overseeing the voting process. The Committee is comprised of representatives from various business areas, including portfolio management, corporate governance, and compliance. The firm’s full proxy voting records are published annually, although no rationale is provided. There is more detail on voting and engagement, including case studies, in the firm’s annual Responsibility report.

We think the company wide integration of ESG analysis is suitable for considering ESG related risks to investment opportunities. With the exclusions and responsible stock selection process applied by the fund, it goes further than other funds managed at Janus Henderson.

Cost

This fund has an ongoing annual charge of 0.85%, but we've secured HL clients an ongoing saving of 0.28%. This means you pay a net ongoing charge of 0.57%. The fund discount is achieved through a loyalty bonus, which could be subject to tax if held outside of an ISA or SIPP.

Our platform charge of up to 0.35% per year also applies, except in the HL Junior ISA, where no platform charge applies.

We recently made some changes to the amount clients pay to invest with us. Find out more about these changes

Please note the fund takes charges from capital, which could boost the income, but reduces the potential for capital growth.

Performance

The fund has performed well over the long term. Since Jones took control in January 2012 it’s risen by 252.30%*, compared with a return of 225.97% for the FTSE All Share index, and 201.64% for the IA UK Equity Income sector average. Past performance is not a guide to the future.

Over the last 12 months, the fund has delivered a return of 15.11%, behind the 25.21% return generated by the FTSE All Share index, and the 18.20% by the IA UK Equity Income sector average. Given the fund’s exclusions, we expect it to perform differently to the broader UK stock market and its peers in the IA UK Equity Income sector at times.

During this period, the FTSE All Share returns have been concentrated, with a few sectors significantly outperforming, such as oil and gas, mining, and defence. Given this fund’s exclusions, Jones will have very little exposure to these sectors, making it difficult for him to keep up with the wider market.

For example, not investmenting in mining companies such as Glencore and Rio Tinto, or oil and gas companies like BP and Shell, was a key detractor from performance relative to the FTSE All Share. However, some of the fund’s existing investments also experienced a challenging 12 months, including healthcare company ConvaTec and materials company Mondi.

On the other hand, Jones’ investments in aviation company Spectris and asset management company Schroder both contributed to returns, after they received takeover bids. Other investments that performed well were chemical company Johnson Matthey and investment management company M&G.

We think Jones has done a good job of growing the income paid over time, particularly given the additional challenge of managing a fund that excludes some of the UK’s largest dividend paying companies.

At the time of writing, the fund has a historic yield of 3.80%, compared with the FTSE All Share yield of 3.13%, Income isn’t guaranteed, and yields aren’t a reliable indicator of future income.