Alan Moss: The Midas touch
The leadership of Alan Moss has turned the Macquarie name into an industry-wide synonym for success.
It seems everything Macquarie has touched in the past 12 months has turned to gold. An indication of Macquarie’s increased market presence came in the March quarter of 2005 when it posted the biggest dollar gain in funds for the period with $6.64 million, putting it in a position to challenge Colonial First State’s status as Australia’s largest investment manager.
Another measure of Macquarie’s success has been the phenomenal performance of Macquarie Bank shares over the past half-year. Starting at $44.80 at the end of April 2005, the bank’s share price has leapt to just over $62.72 at the end of October, reaching a peak of $78.40 during September.
Shareholders had good reason to show such confidence in the organisation after it managed to better its previous year’s result for the 13th year in a row, with its 2005 annual profit surpassing 2004’s by 67 per cent.
Macquarie now dominates the infrastructure sector, having identified the potential for growth in the space a while back. In Sydney alone it has a hand in most of the major toll roads, including the Eastern Distributor, the M5 South West Motorway, and the new Westlink M7.
Acquisitions have also been a major part of Macquarie’s continued success, with the entity adding nine shopping malls in China, city apartments in Shanghai, and two office and business parks in Europe to its list of purchases throughout the year.
The acquisitions look set to continue with bids for Metlifecare, New Zealand’s largest retirement village owner and operator, Budapest Airport, and the London Stock Exchange
Another key strength of Macquarie under Moss’s leadership has been the endless drive to develop innovative products and concepts. To this end, the organisation launched the first Asian hedge fund this year and is participating in Australian television’s Digital 44 datacasting trial, which has seen it set up a free-to-air television channel dedicated to broadcasting expert financial information.
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