Mutual Fund Janus Makes Bear Case on Private Tech

Startup valuations have skyrocketed in recent years, with big influxes of cash from mutual funds like Fidelity and T. Rowe Price fueling the rise. So it’s easy to think that mutual funds must be falling over themselves to get a stake in startups.

Not so for the Janus Global Technology Fund, a $2.5 billion fund that will turn 18 this year. The fund has big positions in publicly traded giants like Alphabet, and it’s heavy on cloud software like Salesforce, Ultimate Software or Workday. But the fund has been less aggressive in private tech, taking the view that valuations are simply too high compared to the public markets.