Kansas City Southern Message Board

> How will I, as a Janus Mutual Fund
shareholder, be directly affected (Fina[n]cially) from the
Stilwell spinoff? < Not at all that I know of. Why
should you be ? You have bought a mutual fund product.
Your financial interests are affected by the Stock
Market performance of the individual stocks in that
fund. The spinoff to benefit KSU shareholders has no
effect on that. In the future your financial interests
will _also_ be affected by decisions made by your
Janus fund manager to add/delete individual stocks from
your fund. > Will Janus [fund managers] quit? <
Depends on Janus _TOP_ management I would think. As
always they will weed out marginal performers and reward
superior performers and encourage them to stay. Why would
this change? Janus is a company with its own
management, own Board of Directors, its own compensation
policies; this has not changed. > Will Stilwell change
the way Janus does things? < Stilwell, formerly a
subsidiary of KSU (and prior to a couple of years ago called
"FAM"), has owned Janus for close to 20 years. The same
Stilwell top management that has run the shop for most if
not all of that time is still running the shop today.
Their policy has always been that the companies they
own are autonomous as long as they perform. Why would
that successful strategy change? > Why would Janus
management threaten to quit over a silly name change? < A
lot of people make money in a transaction like a
spinoff. Banks, Lawyers, consultants, top management.
Bonuses, fees; it's like a trip to Disney World for the
Rich & Avaricious. Some Janus people may have felt
they weren't getting enough of the action; they were
paid more. The issue has died down except for a couple
of clueless reporters sniffing around the edges.
> Does it not seem smarter to you, to keep things
as they are i.e. if it ain't broke don't fix it?
< Always a good idea. Trouble was, it WAS broke.
Stilwell (formerly FAM) has always been tied to a
railroad. In the old days this was regarded as "protection"
for the smaller Stilwell. As Stilwell (FAM) has
prospered and the railroad has not, it was time to jetison
the railroad (which its advocates think has wonderful
potential on its own and will blossom). That spinoff of the
railroad is EXACTLY what has happened, accomplished in a
very clever way that achieves enormous tax advatages
to the benefit of KSU shareholders. Hooray for us.
> Janus should just be left alone to do their money
magic as they have done for all of us for so long. <
Wise words.

Yahooligans:

Your mother loves you. She
wants good things for you. She showers you with love
and affection.

I hope you love your mother. I
hope you show your love to your mother in many little
ways. Stop reading this and call her right now "just to
"say I love you.".

I'm not your
mother.

We've never met.

And who gives a damn when (or
if) I shower?

I'm just trying to gather
valuable insight about the valuation of KSU from
anonmyous, biased sources, like you. That's tough. I will
have to sort out that part of what you post which is
biased, baloney, or just plain biased baloney.

For
example, you might THINK I am a finance professor at the
University of Kansas. Do you know that?

There is a
Mark Hirschey, Professor of Finance and Stockton
Research Fellow at the University of Kansas (check it out
on the Web
http://www.bschool.ukans.edu/People/Faculty/MHirschey/).

However, how do you know that I am that
guy?

Moreover, even if I am, who cares?

Does that guy
ever get it right? And if he does, why would he give
it away?

What part of what mhirschey posts is
biased, baloney or just plain biased
baloney?

IMHO, all of what I post is biased. (I LOVE this
stock.) A cynic might say that I want you to buy KSU
right now and make its price go up a lot! That cynic
would be right.

Whoa, before you e-mail the SEC
enforcement staff, round up the police, and get the dog
catcher involved, be sure that I'm not pulling your leg a
bit in the paragraph just above. Again, how would you
know?

Truthfully (again, who knows?), I believe:

1. Nothing
I say here can move KSU. I am no Tom or David
Gardner.

2. KSU is run by smart, shareholder motivated
management. They will do nothing to harm the Janus Capital,
Inc. franchise. They have nurtured this baby, and will
ensure that it grows, and grows, and grows. They will
maximize shareholder value.

3. The
Stilwell/railroad split up is a great first step in this
restructuring process. (Why do you think they called it
Stilwell Financial, and not Janus Capital?)

4.
Janus funds are run by extremely capable management
that has done exceedingly well in a robust investment
environment for growth stocks. They will continue to do well
in a market environment that I expect will be a bit
rougher for growth stock investors.

5. Sometimes,
I will be able to decipher bias from baloney.
Sometimes, I won't.

From Asolo, Italy, I
send

Best wishes,
Mark Hirschey

Yahooligans:

I see a lot of good ideas
posted on Yahoo.

The idea to mention my comments
to Morningstar is another good idea.

In fact,
I will pass my comments onto the Morningstar
writers in question.

Hey,
Morningstar....

Knock, Knock...

Anybody home?

Best
wishes,
Mark Hirschey