CEO Richard Weil put Janus on a top ten list on an otherwise sleepy Friday. The mutual fund firm's deal with Japan's Dai-ichi Life pushed its shares up more than 10 percent on Friday (shares were changing hands at $8.50 prior to the market close). The gain made Janus' shares the seventh biggest gainer on the day.

The stock opened the day trading at $8.81 and traded as high as $9.12 for an 18 percent gain before falling back in the afternoon. Volume in the stock was more than 5.5 times its daily average.

Investors may be hoping that Dai-ichi opens doors to Janus in Japan, where it is that nation's second largest life insurer. Dai-ichi already has announced that it will steer $2 billion of existing client assets to Janus. Dai-ichi will distribute Janus' funds in Japan through DIAM Asset Management. Dai-ichi is already partnered with Mizuho Financial on DIAM.

The Janus deal comes on the heals of SocGen's long-awaited announcement of its sale of TCW to Carlyle. Taken together, this week's deals may mark a geographic shift from West to East as European institutions have become sellers and Asian companies buyers of U.S. mutual fund firms. 

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