Macquarie AM sees tripling of active ETF assets
Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) has reported half-year net profit contribution of $1.1 billion, up 43 per cent on the previous corresponding period.
In its first half results for the six months to 30 September, the firm said this 43 per cent rise was due to higher performance fees from private markets managed funds, managed accounts and co-investors.
This helped Macquarie Group to report a net profit of $1.6 billion, up 3 per cent on the prior corresponding period.
Base fees in MAM were largely flat on the previous corresponding period at $1.4 million but performance fees increased from $403 million to $756 million.
Specifically on private markets, MAM said assets under management (AUM) in this division stand at $416 billion, up 7 per cent on the March quarter. During the six months, it raised $10.7 billion in net equity from clients and invested $12.5 billion in equity across 16 investments including eight in private credit, five in real assets and three in real estate, with a further $23.5 billion remaining ready to deploy.
“[AUM] was primarily driven by increased net asset valuations and fund investments, partially offset by unfavourable foreign exchange movements, fund divestments and assets no longer managed.”
In public investments, it has $542.5 billion in AUM which was down 2 per cent on the March quarter as a result of equity strategy outflows. This was divided by $293.2 billion in fixed income, $223.7 billion in equities and $25.6 billion in multi-asset.
It noted AUM in active ETFs now stand at $2 billion, three times higher than at the end of March when they stood at $640 million, across 14 funds in the US and Australia.
The firm currently runs a range of three equity active ETFs and four fixed income ones.
MAM operating income was $2.3 billion, up 17 per cent on the first half of the previous financial year, while assets under management in the division stand at $959.1 billion.
Going forward, the firm said it wants to deepen its client relationships, accelerate infrastructure growth and scale key capabilities in real estate, secondaries and systematic investments.
The sale of its MAM North American and European public investment business to Nomura, as announced in April, is on track to complete by the end of the 2025 calendar year.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
Recommended for you
With property becoming increasingly out of reach for young Australia, Vanguard has proposed a tax-incentivised scheme to help cash-heavy individuals build wealth.
Bell Financial Group has appointed a chief investment officer who joins the firm from Clime Investment Management.
Private markets funds with “unattractive practices” could find themselves facing enforcement activity with ASIC chair Joe Longo stating he cannot rule it out in the future.
Despite ASIC concerns about private credit funds being accessed via the advised channel, there are questions regarding how high its usage actually is among financial advisers.
