In early December the big Boston-based hedge fund Highfields Capital Management disclosed that it had bought 8 percent of Stilwell Financial, parent of struggling mutual fund company Janus Capital Management. Highfields, which manages about $2 billion of Harvard University's $17.5 billion endowment, said it wanted a few changes made.

In its 13(D) filing, the $5.2 billion fund stipulated that it might recommend that Stilwell sell one or more of its businesses, elect new directors, consider a merger or sale and drop takeover defenses. Led by former Harvard Management Co. trading star Jonathon Jacobson and hedge fund veteran Richard Grubman, Highfields has a reputation for shaking up companies it deems undervalued.

Stilwell had already announced a major reorganization that called for combining its operations into one company that would market and distribute investment products under the battered but still familiar Janus Capital Management name. Mark Whiston, president of retail and institutional services, is...