Guardian Forms Strategic Partnership with Janus Henderson to Accelerate Growth and Value Creation

Guardian, one of America’s largest life insurers and a leading provider of employee benefits, and Janus Henderson Group plc, a leading global asset manager, have announced a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating growth and value creation.

Janus Henderson to Become Guardian’s Investment Grade Public Fixed Income Asset Manager

As part of the agreement, Janus Henderson will manage the $45 billion investment grade public fixed income portfolio for Guardian’s general account, which includes investment grade corporates and securitized credit.

Janus Henderson will have the opportunity to join Guardian investment professionals currently supporting the in-scope asset classes, providing continuity in the management of these assets while further enhancing Janus Henderson’s specialized insurance investment capabilities.
The partnership positions Janus Henderson as a top-15 unaffiliated insurance asset manager.

Accelerating Growth and Value Creation

The partnership is designed to accelerate growth and value creation for both Guardian and Janus Henderson, with a shared goal of driving long-term mutual growth and creating value.

As part of the agreement, Guardian will commit up to $400 million of seed capital to support Janus Henderson’s continued innovation in securitized credit and high-quality active fixed income products, as well as other leading fixed income capabilities.

Co-Developing Proprietary Model Portfolios

Guardian and Janus Henderson will also co-develop proprietary, multi-asset solution model portfolios for Guardian’s dually registered broker-dealer and registered investment advisor, Park Avenue Securities (PAS), which has over 2,400 advisors covering approximately $58.5 billion of client assets under management.

As part of this strategic partnership, Guardian and Janus Henderson will leverage their complementary strengths to create innovative investment solutions for PAS clients, bringing together Janus Henderson’s full suite of global investment allocation and solutions capabilities, including Janus Henderson EdgeTM, the firm’s award-winning proprietary analytics platform.

Key Highlights

Janus Henderson will manage the $45 billion investment grade public fixed income portfolio for Guardian’s general account.
Guardian will commit up to $400 million of seed capital to support Janus Henderson’s continued innovation.
Guardian and Janus Henderson will co-develop proprietary, multi-asset solution model portfolios for Park Avenue Securities (PAS).
Janus Henderson will position itself as a top-15 unaffiliated insurance asset manager.

Quotes from Key Executives

“This strategic partnership with Janus Henderson enhances Guardian’s investment and solutions capabilities and aligns our organizations for long-term, mutual growth. Our shared culture of collaboration and dedication to our clients make them a natural partner for Guardian.”

“Janus Henderson is honored to partner with Guardian, one of the largest and most respected life insurers in the U.S. Together we will work to help shape the financial futures of millions of customers, creating a brighter future together.”

About Guardian

Guardian is a leading provider of life, disability, dental, and other benefits, and has received accolades for its culture and service. Our colleagues and financial professionals serve with care and experience, and our commitments rest on a strong financial foundation, which included a 2025 dividend allocation of $1.6 billion, the largest in the company’s history.

About Janus Henderson

Janus Henderson Group is a leading global active asset manager dedicated to helping clients define and achieve superior financial outcomes through differentiated insights, disciplined investments, and world-class service.

Janus Henderson has approximately $379 billion in assets under management, more than 2,000 employees, and offices in 25 cities worldwide.

Media Contact Information

For media inquiries, please contact Candice Sun at +1 303-336-5452 or candice.sun@janushenderson.com.

For investor relations inquiries, please contact Mediarelations@glic.com.

Financial Information

Financial Statement	Value
Admitted Assets	$86.8 billion
Liabilities	$77.5 billion (including $60.7 billion of reserves)
Surplus	$9.3 billion

As of December 31, 2024, Guardian had $86.8 billion in admitted assets, $77.5 billion in liabilities, and $9.3 billion in surplus.

Janus Henderson had approximately $379 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2024.

The partnership transaction is expected to close at the end of the second quarter of 2025.

A detailed investor presentation on the partnership transaction is available on Janus Henderson’s Investor Relations website.

Janus Henderson was advised by Mayer Brown LLP, and Guardian was advised by Debevoise Plimpton LLP.

Guardian makes a difference in the lives of people when they need us most. With 165 years of stability and fiscal integrity, we are a trusted resource to generations of families and business owners, inspiring well-being and helping build financial confidence. We help business owners care for their employees. And we help people recover and thrive in times of unexpected loss.

Guardian, which is based in New York City, is a leading provider of life, disability, dental, and other benefits, and has received accolades for its culture and service. Our colleagues and financial professionals serve with care and experience, and our commitments rest on a strong financial foundation, which included a 2025 dividend allocation of $1.6 billion, the largest in the company’s history.

Janus Henderson was advised by Mayer Brown LLP, and Guardian was advised by Debevoise Plimpton LLP.

Janus Henderson is a leading global active asset manager dedicated to helping clients define and achieve superior financial outcomes through differentiated insights, disciplined investments, and world-class service. As of December 31, 2024, Janus Henderson had approximately $379 billion in assets under management, more than 2,000 employees, and offices in 25 cities worldwide.

The firm helps millions of people globally invest in a brighter future together. Headquartered in London, Janus Henderson is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the potential benefits and outcomes of the partnership.

Certain statements in this press release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed.

The information contained in this press release does not constitute a public offer under any applicable legislation or an offer to sell or solicitation of any offer to buy any securities or financial instruments or any advice or recommendation with respect to such securities or other financial instruments.

Not all products or services are available in all jurisdictions.

Please consider the charges, risks, expenses, and investment objectives carefully before investing. For a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this and other information, please call Janus Henderson at 800.668.0434 or download the file from janushenderson.com/info.

Read it carefully before you invest or send money.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. There is no assurance the stated objective(s) will be met.

Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal and fluctuation of value.

Fixed income securities are subject to interest rate, inflation, credit, and default risk.

The bond market is volatile. As interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall, and vice versa.

The return of principal is not guaranteed, and prices may decline if an issuer fails to make timely payments or its credit strength weakens.

Foreign securities are subject to additional risks including currency fluctuations, political and economic uncertainty, increased volatility, lower liquidity, and differing financial and information reporting standards, all of which are magnified in emerging markets.

Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs) are debt securities issued in different tranches, with varying degrees of risk, and backed by an underlying portfolio consisting primarily of below investment grade corporate loans.

The return of principal is not guaranteed, and prices may decline if payments are not made timely or credit strength weakens.

CLOs are subject to liquidity risk, interest rate risk, credit risk, call risk, and the risk of default of the underlying assets.

Concentrated investments in a single sector, industry, or region will be more susceptible to factors affecting that group and may be more volatile than less concentrated investments or the market as a whole.

Derivatives can be more volatile and sensitive to economic or market changes than other investments, which could result in losses exceeding the original investment and magnified by leverage.

Increased portfolio turnover may result in higher expenses and potentially higher net taxable gains or losses.

Mortgage-backed securities (MBS) may be more sensitive to interest rate changes. They are subject to extension risk, where borrowers extend the duration of their mortgages as interest rates rise, and prepayment risk, where borrowers pay off their mortgages earlier as interest rates fall.

Securitized products, such as mortgage- and asset-backed securities, are more sensitive to interest rate changes, have extension and prepayment risk, and are subject to more credit, valuation, and liquidity risk than other fixed-income securities.

For JMBS and JSI, the Fund will typically enter into “to be announced” or “TBA” commitments when purchasing MBS, which allows the Fund to agree to pay for certain yet-to-be issued securities at a future date and which may have a leveraging effect on the Fund.

JMBS may enter into reverse repurchase agreement transactions and use the cash made available from these transactions to make additional investments in mortgage-related instruments or other fixed-income securities.

Actively managed portfolios may fail to produce the intended results. No investment strategy can ensure a profit or eliminate the risk of loss.

Janus Henderson Investors US LLC is the investment adviser, and ALPS Distributors, Inc. is the distributor. ALPS is not affiliated with Janus Henderson.

Janus Henderson is a trademark of Janus Henderson Group plc or one of its subsidiaries.

Guardian is a registered trademark of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY.

This press release is solely for the use of members of the media and should not be relied upon by personal investors, financial advisers, or institutional investors.

We may record telephone calls for our mutual protection, to improve customer service, and for regulatory record keeping purposes.

All opinions and estimates in this information are subject to change without notice.

Guardian is a registered trademark of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY.

Securities products/services and advisory services offered through Park Avenue Securities LLC, a registered broker-dealer and registered investment adviser.

Park Avenue Securities is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America and is located at 10 Hudson Yards, New York, NY 10001.

Member FINRA, SIPC.

Dividends are not guaranteed.

They are declared annually by Guardian’s Board of Directors.

The total dividend calculation includes mortality experience and expense management as well as investment results.

Financial information concerning Guardian as of December 31, 2024, on a statutory basis: Admitted assets $86.8 billion; liabilities $77.5 billion (including $60.7 billion of reserves); and surplus $9.3 billion.

1 Figure includes the fixed income portion of multi-asset funds as of December 31, 2024.

2 Pro forma AUM as of December 31, 2024, figures include $45bn of Guardian assets and $64bn of Janus Henderson client AUM across global Insurance, Variable Insurance Trust, Insurance Broker Dealer, and Retail Life Co. AUM.

3 Source: Clearwater Analytics Investment Outsourcing Report, 2024.

4 Source: Morningstar, as of March 31, 2025.

5 Source: Morningstar, as of March 31, 2025.

6 As of December 31, 2024.

7 Janus Henderson was awarded American Financial Technology Awards best analytics initiative for 2019.

This partnership is expected to close at the end of the second quarter of 2025.

A detailed investor presentation on the partnership transaction is available on Janus Henderson’s Investor Relations website.

Janus Henderson was advised by Mayer Brown LLP, and Guardian was advised by Debevoise Plimpton LLP.

Not all products or services are available in all jurisdictions.

Please consider the charges, risks, expenses, and investment objectives carefully before investing. ALPS is not affiliated with Janus Henderson.

Janus Henderson is a trademark of Janus Henderson Group plc or one of its subsidiaries.

Guardian is a registered trademark of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY.

This partnership is expected to close at the end of the second quarter of 2025.

A detailed investor presentation on the partnership transaction is available on Janus Henderson’s Investor Relations website.

Janus Henderson was advised by Mayer Brown LLP, and Guardian was advised by Debevoise Plimpton LLP.

Guardian makes a difference in the lives of people when they need us most. Headquartered in London, Janus Henderson is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.