Seed of doubt for Macquarie asset disposals
Recent volatility in global equity markets has caused a slow-down in Macquarie Bank’s disposal of seed assets into specialist funds, according to the company’s leading executive.
Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting, Macquarie Bank (Macquarie) chief executive officer Allan Moss said in the last quarter market concerns over oil prices, inflation, interest rates and political turmoil had dampened demand for the assets.
“Listed markets have been volatile over the last couple of months,” he said.
“As a result, the demand for IPOs [initial public offerings] has been patchy, and for this reason disposals are likely to be slower than anticipated.”
Despite the volatility, Moss stood by the bank’s strategy of using “privileged” seed assets, such as US car park company Icon Parking, as the foundation for its specialist fund business.
While he acknowledged performance fees were “well down”, Moss highlighted fund raisings of $16.3 billion in the 15 months to June as an indication of ongoing market support for the strategy.
Macquarie also reported a strong underlying profit of $916 million for the financial year ending in March, up 33 per cent from the previous year.
The results were propelled by strong growth in the bank’s asset and wealth management, which grew 28 per cent on the previous corresponding period, and in its lending business, which was up 14 per cent.
Moss also added that first quarter results for both financial services and funds management businesses were “well up” on the previous period, with funds management experiencing growth in volume across all asset classes.
Recommended for you
With the final tally for FY25 now confirmed, how many advisers left during the financial year and how does it compare to the previous year?
HUB24 has appointed Matt Willis from Vanguard as an executive general manager of platform growth to strengthen the platform’s relationships with industry stakeholders.
Investment manager Drummond Capital Partners has announced a raft of adviser-focused updates, including a practice growth division, relaunched manager research capabilities, and a passive model portfolio suite.
When it comes to M&A activity, the share of financial buyers such as private equity firms in Australia fell from 67 per cent to 12 per cent in the last financial year.
