MA Financial Group (ASX:MAF) executives highlighted record fundraising and accelerated lending growth during the company’s FY25 results call, while acknowledging that ongoing investment is likely to keep group margins below a previously stated near-term target.
FY25: AUM surge, record flows, and earnings growth
Joint CEO Julian Biggins said FY25 represented “another strong year” and showed the group has “multiple growth engines that are scaling.” He pointed to “very strong” assets under management growth, record flows, and an increased contribution from the MA Money lending platform.
Biggins emphasized growth across all three divisions and said strong fourth-quarter growth provided momentum into FY26.
Acquisitions and product launches expanded the platform
Executives highlighted the acquisition of IP Generation as “strategically important,” saying it materially expanded MA Financial’s real estate investment and distribution capabilities. The group also launched two new ASX-listed private credit products, described as further diversifying access to capital in listed markets.
In asset management, Biggins said transaction fees ended the year strongly, including contributions from Core Real Estate following the IP Generation acquisition, which related to the acquisition of AUD 1.2 billion of shopping centers. He described this as a strong start for the integrated core real estate platform.
Management also discussed performance fees: equities and growth ventures contributed in the second half, and the company expects a stronger outlook “as the proportion of funds subject to performance fees grows and some of the older funds mature.” Biggins added the company expects Redcape to contribute performance fees in the next 18 months.
Recurring revenue focus and statutory vs. underlying results
Increasing recurring revenue was described as a key objective. For FY25, recurring revenue was AUD 258 million, up 25% from the prior period. Biggins said MA Money is expected to become a significant recurring revenue contributor over time, and that the IP Generation acquisition, the shopping center acquisitions, and the new listed private credit funds were expected to provide a recurring base fee tailwind into FY26.
On profitability measures, Biggins said statutory profit was down, attributing the decline to accounting treatments linked to the IP Generation acquisition and listing costs associated with establishing the MA One listed private credit fund. He said these were “technical accounting impacts” rather than changes in operating performance and were removed from underlying earnings, consistent with prior periods.
Return on equity rebounded to 13.6% from 10.7% a year earlier, and management said it expected further improvement in FY26 as scale builds.
Lending and technology: MA Money scales; Finsure extends reach
Biggins said MA Money’s loan book grew to AUD 5.2 billion, up 148% year-on-year, with accelerating monthly settlements. He said the platform’s earnings contribution “stepped up meaningfully” and was tracking ahead of original expectations. Management reported MA Money delivered a 1.4% net interest margin for the year and said arrears were “very low.”
In the Q&A, executives provided more detail on credit quality. They said 90-day arrears remained below 1% and had been consistent for the past 12–18 months. They also said credit loss provisioning had increased from about 8–9 basis points in FY24 to roughly 12–13 basis points in FY25, while characterizing the change as an “insignificant volume increase” without a change in 90-day arrears.
Finsure continued to grow, with broker numbers up 12% to more than 4,200. Loans on platform increased 26% to AUD 175 billion, and Biggins said Finsure processed “one in nine” Australian home loans.
The company also highlighted its Middle residential mortgage technology platform, saying it was processing approximately AUD 1 billion of loans weekly—double the volume from 12 months earlier.
FY26 outlook: early flows, U.S. distribution milestone, and margin commentary
Post-year-end, management said activity remained elevated. In the first seven weeks of FY26, gross flows were AUD 300 million and net flows were AUD 96 million, which management said was slightly below the run rate but too short a period to extrapolate.
Executives cited a “key milestone” for the U.S. Interval Fund being added to the Schwab platform, calling it an important distribution breakthrough. They also announced the launch of the MA CMBI APAC Credit Opportunities Fund, a partnership with China Merchants Bank to offer a private credit product to offshore institutional and ultra-high net worth investors. Management said the fund is initially seeking to raise and deploy $600 million of capital.
MA Money continued to accelerate, management said, and the company noted an upsized AUD 1.25 billion RMBS issuance that it characterized as being priced competitively. Biggins also said MA Money’s loan book was AUD 5.7 billion early in FY26, which he said underpinned a stronger NPAT contribution than previously guided—suggesting the “top end of the range or potentially slightly better,” while adding the year was still early and market conditions could change.
On targets, Biggins said the company expected to meet or have met most FY26 targets well ahead of schedule, including AUM above AUD 15 billion and MA Money surpassing a AUD 4 billion target early. He also said Finsure was expected to “materially exceed” its AUD 190 billion target in the coming year. When asked why the company did not update targets or introduce FY27 targets, management said it had not considered updating targets at this time, while noting the targets were introduced in August 2023 and the business was at a different stage of growth.
On margins, management acknowledged the group EBITDA margin was “slightly below” a FY26 target and said it was “unlikely” the company would hit a 40% margin by December. In response to a question on confidence in achieving that level, executives said margin should improve as scale benefits come through, but that the company continues to invest in the business and expects margin to “accrete a couple of points” over the year. They also noted that excluding strategic spend in FY25, EBITDA margin was 33%.
Executives reiterated a balanced approach to capital allocation, noting a stable, fully franked dividend of AUD 0.20 per share in recent years and saying the board would revisit dividend policy as underlying earnings grow, weighing funding for growth against “prudently increasing dividends.”
About MA Financial Group (ASX:MAF)
MA Financial Group Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial services in Australia. It operates through Asset Management, Lending & Technology, and Corporate Advisory and Equities segments. The Asset Management segment specializes in private credit, real estate, hospitality, unique operating assets and private equity, and venture capital; and manages traditional asset classes including equities, bonds, and cash for wholesale, retail, and institutional investors. The Lending & Technology segment offers lending platforms for the provision of loan funding, residential mortgages, and financial technology including mortgage aggregation services.
