Good morning all. My name is Emma Pringle, and I am MFG 's Head of Investor Relations and Sustainability. I will be moderating today's annual general meeting. Before we commence today's proceedings, I'd like to first acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet today, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to their elders, past and present. I will start with some housekeeping matters. This AGM is an in-person event being live streamed for those who cannot make it today. If there are any questions from shareholders or proxy holders during the AGM, we'll be happy to address them. Questions will be addressed immediately after the Chairman and CEO's and Managing Director's addresses, and questions relating to items of business will be addressed once we reach the relevant resolution.
I will now provide an overview of how to ask questions and how to vote. To ask a question, please raise your blue or yellow card, and we will call upon you to ask your question. Once called upon, a MFG representative will come over to you with a microphone. Please do not ask your question until you have received the microphone. We request that you ask a maximum of two questions to allow other shareholders an opportunity to ask their questions. Please also state your name and, where appropriate, state who you are also representing before asking your question. Shareholders who have joined us on the webcast today may submit a question at any time during the AGM. You can do so by clicking on the live Q&A tab located on the right-hand side of the screen. Moving on to how to vote.
Upon registration, shareholders and proxy holders eligible to vote today would have received a blue voting card that provides the holding of a poll on the resolutions put to shareholders. You will need to complete this card in order for your vote to be counted. Shareholders who wish to vote for the resolution, please mark the for box. Shareholders who wish to vote against the resolution, please mark the against box. Shareholders who wish to abstain from voting on the resolution should mark the abstain box. Abstentions will not be counted in computing the required majority for the poll. If you are a proxy holder, you must comply with the direction of the shareholder if you wish to lodge a valid vote. If you have already submitted a proxy vote, your existing vote will be cancelled if you vote again today.
I will now hand over to MFG 's Chairman, Andrew Formica, to formally open today's meeting.
Thank you, Emma. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Andrew Formica, Chairman of MFG . On behalf of the Board, I welcome you to our 2025 annual general meeting, which is now formally open as there is a quorum present. I also extend a warm welcome to those shareholders who are watching today's live stream. I would like to start by introducing our Directors: Sophia Rahmani, Debbie Page, David Dixon, Catherine Kovacs, and John Eales. We have our Company Secretary, Emily Cameron. A brief biography of each of these appears in our company's annual report. I'd also like to welcome Stacey Hooper, a partner from our company's external auditor, EY. Karen Hopkins, a partner from KPMG, is also here, who's proposed to be appointed as MFG 's external auditor, subject to your shareholder approval today.
A representative of our share registry, Boardroom Proprietary Limited, is also with us today. The minutes of the previous annual general meeting held on the 22nd of October 2024 have been approved by the Board and are signed by me as the Chairman. These minutes are tabled and are available for inspection by any shareholder wishing to see them by contacting the company. The notice of annual general meeting has been made available to all shareholders. I will take the notice of meeting as read. I'll now take a moment to outline this morning's agenda. We have allocated sufficient time for today's meeting, and we expect it should conclude by around approximately midday. Following the conclusion of the meeting, I will warmly invite you all as shareholders to meet with our investment teams, who will be available outside.
I encourage you to ask them about their investment processes, portfolios, and their market insights. I will shortly make some opening remarks, and then I'll hand over to Sophia Rahmani, our CEO and Managing Director, to make her address. Following this, we will consider the formal items of business which relate to, firstly, the receipt of the company's financial statement and reports, the adoption of the remuneration report, my reelection as a Director, the grant of performance rights, restricted shares, and matching awards to Ms. Sophia Rahmani under the MFG equity plan, and the appointment of KPMG as MFG 's external auditor. On the screen is the formal disclaimer, which, among other matters, addresses any forward-looking statements contained in the presentation materials or that of any Directors they may make today. I'd like now to turn to my Chairman's address.
This year's AGM comes at a significant moment in the history of our organization. The last several years have been a period of stabilization, renewal, and repositioning. In 2025, we made strong progress in advancing our strategy, strengthening our foundations, and setting MFG on a path of sustainable long-term growth. Let me begin with leadership. A central focus for the Board over the past two years has been ensuring stability in management and a smooth leadership transition. This was achieved in March this year with the formal appointment of Sophia Rahmani as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, and my transition from Executive Chairman to Non-Executive Chairman. Sophia's appointment followed her earlier appointment as Managing Director of Magellan Asset Management Limited, during which she demonstrated outstanding leadership, focus, and vision, and we are delighted with the significant impact she's made in her first full year with the company.
Sophia has assembled a highly capable executive team with new appointments, including Mr. Dean McGuire as Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Jen Driskill as Chief Operating Officer, and Ms. Sam Moss as Chief Risk Officer. Together with the executive team, Sophia has overseen improvement in our investment management business, furthered the strength of strategic partnerships, and reinvigorated the firm's culture. I will leave it to Sophia to elaborate on these achievements shortly, but I would like to acknowledge on behalf of the Board the professionalism, the energy that she's brought to the role. We remain steadfast in our evolution from a traditional asset manager to an innovative financial group active in two pillars: firstly, Investment management, and also in Financial services specialist.
At the heart of this strategy are carefully considered investments in high-quality businesses that both expand the solutions we can offer clients and ensure we make full and prudent use of our strong balance sheet. The strength of our full year 2025 results reflects the success of this approach. Contributions from our strategic partners have enhanced the quality of our earnings and provided diversification at a time when the broader active asset management industry continues to face structural headwinds. At the same time, our investment management business remains highly profitable, and our balance sheet remains robust. Together, these factors give us the flexibility to continue investing in both organic initiatives and targeted strategic opportunities, positioning MFG to deliver sustainable growth. MFG today is more than a single line asset manager. We have evolved to be a focused financial services group spanning investment management and specialist financial services.
In August, we were delighted to announce our refreshed brand, which sees MFG as our parent company and Magellan Investment Partners as our outward-facing investment management brand. This underscores the strength of our leading distribution platform, which brings to the market investment solutions managed by Magellan Investment Partners' teams: Magellan Global Equities, Magellan Global Listed Infrastructure, and Airlie Funds Management, as well as by our strategic partner Vinva. Together with our other strategic partners, Barrenj oey and FinClear, we have a stable set of complementary capabilities and strengthened earnings diversity. This evolution brings greater clarity for clients, partners, and shareholders. The launch of the Magellan Investment Partners brand gives us a distinct identity through which to showcase the breadth of investment solutions we provide. Central to this delivery is our institutional-grade distribution platform, one of our enduring competitive strengths.
Built over the past 18 years, it is a core strength of our firm, critical to our business model, and a strong foundation for future growth. We will continue to leverage this platform to create value for both clients and shareholders. As mentioned, MFG delivered solid performance in full year 2025 with several positive highlights, notably strong momentum in our strategic partners driving financial contribution and long-term growth. Operating profit rose to AUD 159.7 million, an increase of 5.4% on the prior year. Operating earnings per share were at AUD 0.898, up 7.3%. Assets under management increased 8.2% to AUD 39.6 billion as at the end of June, and 1.5% higher to AUD 40.2 billion as at the end of September. This is supported by strong double-digit absolute investment performance across all of our strategies, and whilst down on the prior year, revenue from investment management totaled AUD 245.7 million.
We returned AUD 202 million to shareholders through a combination of dividends and share buybacks. The group declared a final dividend of AUD 0.259/ share, fully franked, and in addition, we paid a special dividend of AUD 0.21/ share, also fully franked, bringing the full year dividends to AUD 0.733/ share, an increase of 12.6% compared with full year 2024. Importantly, income from our strategic partnerships grew materially. Contributions from Barrenj oey, Vinva, and FinClear more than tripled to AUD 31.1 million, representing approximately 20% of overall group operating profit. This is a clear validation of our strategy to diversify MFG's earnings through aligned partnerships with high-quality businesses. Our central theme of full year 2025 was capital management. As shareholders will recall, we committed to undertake a comprehensive review of our capital management and dividend policy during the year.
Following Dean McGuire's appointment as Chief Financial Officer in March this year, the review was conducted and resulted in the adoption of a new policy effective for full year 2026 to pay out at least 80% of group operating profits as dividends. This policy broadens the base of earnings from which dividends are calculated, recognizing the increasing contribution from our strategic partners, and ensures shareholders benefit directly from our diversified profit streams. Importantly, we have implemented the policy whilst maintaining a very strong balance sheet. As of June 2025, Magellan held AUD 563 million in liquid capital across cash and fund investments, and the group continues to operate with no debt. This gives us the flexibility to continue investing in both organic initiatives and targeted strategic opportunities, positioning Magellan to deliver sustainable growth.
As we continue to evaluate the best way to create value and return capital to shareholders, we have decided to continue our on-market buyback program, and this financial year has so far returned AUD 7.8 million as at the 20th of October 2025. Turning now to governance. Following the Board renewal process of recent years, I am pleased to chair a Board of committed and deeply experienced Directors with a deep mix of skills, perspectives, and independence to oversee the group. Last year, we outlined our intention to continue strengthening and refreshing the Board to ensure that MFG is well positioned for the future. I'm therefore pleased to announce that a new Director, Mr. Peeyush Gupta, will be joining the Board as an independent Non-Executive Director effective the 1st of November 2025. Mr. Gupta brings over 40 years of experience in financial services, with a strong record in building and growing businesses, digital transformation, and strategic leadership. He is currently Chair of the Liberty Financial Group and a Non-Executive Director of DEXUS, Great Southern Bank, and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, among others. As co-founder and inaugural CEO of IPAC Securities, and with prior Board roles including National Australia Bank and Lincoln Administration Holdings, Mr. Gupta's deep experience across finance, government, and technology will add valuable insight to the Board. This appointment reflects our ongoing commitment to bringing fresh perspectives and strong leadership to guide MFG through its next phase of growth.
Earlier this year, following the appointment of our new Chief Risk Officer, and together with Sophia , we undertook a comprehensive review of MFG 's board and governance structures across all our group entities, aimed at streamlining decision-making, strengthening accountability, and ensuring that our governance framework remained aligned with the company's strategic priorities. It is intended that the Non-Executive Directors of MFG will step off the Magellan Asset Management Board and remain solely as Directors of MFG , with the final structure of the Magellan Asset Management Board expected to be determined by early November. I'm also pleased to confirm that Sam Moss will be appointed as MFG 's Company Secretary from the 1st of November 2025. At the same time, Emily Cameron will step down from her role as Company Secretary while continuing with MFG as Senior Lead Legal Counsel.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to warmly thank Emily for her contribution over the past year. Finally, at the conclusion of this AGM, EY will step down as MFG 's auditor. On behalf of the Board, I would like to express our sincere thanks for your dedicated service to MFG over the years. As a Director of your company, I also stand for reelection today in accordance with our Constitution and the ASX listing rules. I have had the privilege of serving on the Board since 2023, including as Executive Chairman and now in a Non-Executive Chairman capacity. I believe continuity in leadership at board level remains important as we enter the next phase of growth, and I look forward to the opportunity to continue serving shareholders should I be reelected. The Board has also overseen improvements in remuneration practices.
As detailed in our remuneration report, we have implemented a new framework designed to better align executive rewards with shareholder outcomes. Importantly, Sophia's remuneration includes a significant proportion of long-term equity incentives subject to performance hurdles, ensuring close alignment with shareholder value creation. In summary, full year 2025 was a year of renewal and resilience. We strengthened our financial foundations, broadened our earnings base, and positioned the business for sustainable growth. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank our employees for their commitment, Sophia and her team for their leadership, and you, our shareholders, for your ongoing support. I will now hand over to Sophia to provide a detailed update on our operations and strategic direction.
Thank you, Andrew, and good morning, everyone. It's a privilege to address you this year at our annual general meeting as Chief Executive and Managing Director of MFG . As you have heard, there's been significant progress on many fronts over the past 12 months, building on the stability achieved in recent years, broadening our sources of earnings, and positioning MFG as an innovative financial services group with diversified capabilities. Looking at where we stand today and the momentum we have in the business, I am genuinely excited for the next phase of our growth. Andrew has touched on the highlights of our financial performance already, the outcomes of which demonstrate the resilience of our business and the progress we have made in broadening and strengthening our foundations.
This result is validation of our strategy to partner with high-quality, complementary businesses such as Barrenj oey and Vinva, providing diversification and support to our strong investment management earnings base. Underpinning our profitability and resilience is our strong platform, and in particular, our people and culture. Our people and our culture are central to our success. Our team's expertise, commitment, and alignment with clients and shareholders are the key elements which will drive MFG s long-term outcomes. Our progress during the year included some key hires, which I'll cover in some more detail on the following slide, implementing a redesigned remuneration framework, and introducing new development and wellbeing initiatives. Employee engagement rose by 12% year- on- year, reflecting the progress we have made in embedding a high-performance, client-first culture.
We remain focused on providing our team with the right tools, incentives, and environment to thrive, and will continue to foster a culture where people want to join and to stay. Our key platform initiatives included the further simplification of our global equity product suite and the succession of our clients in the high-conviction strategy to the high-performing global opportunity strategy in August. As mentioned by Andrew, we also refreshed our brand at the MFG level and launched a new brand, Magellan Investment Partners, which will serve as the outward-facing brand for our investment management business across all investment solutions. We are a people-focused business, and it's my pleasure to introduce MFG's refreshed Executive Committee to our shareholders, given the multiple appointments we've made over the past 12 months following highly competitive recruitment processes. Jen Driskill joined MFG in January as Chief Operating Officer.
She brings a strong international background, having spent nearly 25 years at Alliance Bernstein in New York, London, and Sydney, most recently serving as Australian Country Head for the past 10 years. Dean McGuire joined in March as Chief Financial Officer, bringing over 17 years of experience in financial services. He joined from GPT Group, where he held senior roles since 2011, most recently as Interim CFO and previously as Deputy CFO. Sam Moss completed the executive team in April, joining as Chief Risk Officer. She has over 28 years of experience in financial services, specializing in risk, governance, compliance, and operations. Before joining Magellan , she served as CRO at Perpetual for six years, following five years at Janus Henderson and 17 years at Macquarie.
These new additions complement the existing executive team, which includes Mark Burgess, our Head of Distribution for Asia Pacific, who brings strong expertise from his 15-year tenure at Magellan and his over 30-year tenure in distribution, and Melissa Pasco, our Head of Human Resources, who joined in 2023 after serving as Head of HR at NUX and Global HR Director at Macquarie, having spent nearly 23 years there. It's a privilege to lead this dynamic, experienced, and motivated team. I can commit to you that we are aligned with our shareholders, and I am confident in our ability to deliver on our strategy and lead MFG through its next stage of growth. In today's funds management landscape, distribution has become a critical element to ensure the unlocking of investment capabilities.
Structural shifts are reshaping the industry: the rise of passive investing, the consolidation, internalization, and regulation of superannuation funds, and the growing influence of retail asset consultants, each fundamentally changing how capital is allocated. To compete and grow in this environment, managers need not only excellent investment teams but also the ability to understand our clients so we can present relevant investment solutions through trusted relationships. These dynamics reinforce the importance of distribution as a core strategic capability. With fewer but larger buyers, increasing bargaining power concentrated in institutional hands, and more gatekeepers across retail and wholesale segments, the ability to build and maintain relationships at scale is now a decisive factor in determining which investment managers thrive. For those with limited reach, however strong their investment credentials are, the risk is to remain subscale or to be left behind in a market that demands client relationships, access, and influence.
It is in this context that our distribution platform stands out as one of our competitive advantages. Built over many years of investment, it combines deep and trusted relationships with advisors, brokers, consultants, and institutions, with growing reach into international markets. This platform gives us the ability not only to retain clients but also to capture new opportunities as they emerge, ensuring that the investment strategies we represent, both internal capabilities and those managed by our strategic partners, can be delivered to the right investors in the right way. Turning to our investment management business, we are pleased to see continued growth in our total assets under management. As Andrew Formica mentioned, we finished FY 2025 with AUM of AUD 39.6 billion, representing an 8% increase year- on- year, supported by strong investment returns across all strategies, and reached AUM of AUD 40.2 billion at the end of the first quarter of FY 2026.
Net flows are generally stabilizing, with retail outflows slowing and institutional inflows turning positive in the first quarter of FY 2026. Airlie Australian equities continue to attract flows across both retail and institutional channels, with AUD 900 million + net flows in the first quarter of FY 2026. Notably, the Airlie Australian Share Fund surpassed AUD 1 billion in August, only 16 months after reaching its AUD 500 million milestone. We were also pleased to see the Magellan Listed Infrastructure strategy return to positive flows in Q1 FY 2026, with AUD 200 million in institutional net flows, mainly from offshore investors. This improvement was supported by stronger performance in the second half of FY 2025, which helped restore client confidence in the asset class. It also reflects early positive signs from our offshore distribution efforts and the successful transfer of leadership to Ben McVicar and Ofer Karliner .
Global equities continued to meet or exceed the long-term performance objectives of 9% net of fees, despite outflows connected with the Magellan Global Fund conversion in the first quarter of FY 2025. The Vinva equity funds represented on this slide show the four funds launched during the FY 2025 on our platform and distributed by Magellan Investment Partners, with underlying investments managed by our strategic partner, Vinva. While still early, these funds have attracted strong interest, and we're optimistic about their long-term potential. Turning to investment performance, investment performance remains a central priority across all MFG teams. We are steadfastly focused on long-term outcomes, and on this measure, our flagship funds have continued to outperform their benchmarks since inception. At the same time, we acknowledge that shorter-term performance results are not where we need them to be.
Over the year, all strategies delivered solid absolute returns, and while we're encouraged by early signs of improvement, many strategies still lag the broader market. We have continued to invest in our investment teams through the year, adding tools and resources across each team to set them up to best focus on generating returns for our clients. We have bolstered our bench with senior appointments in each of Magellan Global Equities and Magellan Global Listed Infrastructure, as well as new hires in Airlie. Attracting such high-caliber talent speaks to the strength of our business and reinforces our commitment to building teams positioned to deliver for our clients. Returns for our shareholders also benefit in FY 2025 through the performance of our strategic partners. As mentioned earlier, combined earnings grew across the year to make up 20% of operating profit.
Touching on the highlights of each business, Vinva contributed to group profits for the first time following the commencement of our partnership with Vinva in August 2024. Vinva has a unique and scalable investment platform for growth and had a very strong year of investment performance and client inflows across all key strategies. These results continue to support the rationale we outlined when we made the investment, and we look forward to continuing building further momentum in our distribution partnership with the Vinva team. Barrenj oey reported NPAT of AUD 59.4 million, with revenue up 24% year- on- year for FY 2025. The expansion of its fixed income business, including the opening of an office in Abu Dhabi, has been a notable standout success. FinClear grew revenues by 8% year- on- year and launched several new products, including FCX, Australia's first regulated private company equity platform.
These businesses are broadening the capability set and diversity of earnings for MFG , highlighting the benefits of our strategy for our shareholders. To our strategy, at our FY 2025 half-year results, we outlined our strategic plan to continue our transition from a traditional asset manager to an innovative financial services group. While our investment management business remains core to our group, we are focused on diversifying our revenue streams, expanding our product range, and positioning for long-term growth in order to create and grow shareholder value. To achieve this, we are looking for opportunities to deploy existing capital into high-quality, scalable businesses that complement our capabilities. We believe we can successfully deliver on this strategy, given our experienced team who have a strong track record of identifying compelling opportunities. We also target partners with proven leadership, strategic, and cultural alignment.
We pursue fewer, deeper partnerships, providing capital and access to our institutional-grade platform while respecting autonomy and creating mutual benefit. This approach allows our partners to grow without losing what makes them successful and, in turn, strengthen our own business. Our partnership with Vinva late August exemplifies this model and serves as a blueprint for future strategic investments. To FY 2026, our strategy is built around five clear priorities, which we progress meaningfully through FY 2025 and which we remain committed to as we enter 2026. Firstly, we will continue to leverage our global distribution platform to attract and retain clients, with a particular focus in key markets of Asia Pacific, North America, and U.K. and EMEA. Secondly, we will support evolving client needs and broaden our product set through both organic development and partnerships.
Number three, new strategic partnership opportunities will continue to be evaluated with aligned businesses at the same time as driving mutual growth with existing partners. Fourthly, our culture and people will remain at the forefront as we seek to foster a high-performance culture with strong alignment between employee rewards and shareholder outcomes and a focus on our clients. Finally, we will maintain a focus on operational excellence, continuing to invest in scalable systems, technology, and AI to drive efficiency and innovation. These priorities are clear, actionable, and aligned with our vision of building an innovative financial services group. In closing, FY 2025 was a year of resilience and renewal. We strengthened our foundations, broadened our earnings base, and delivered improved outcomes for clients, employees, and shareholders. While challenges remain in global markets, MFG is better positioned today than it has been in many years.
With a strong balance sheet, clear strategy, and a high-quality team, we are confident in our ability to create sustainable long-term value. I would like to thank our clients for their trust, our employees for their commitment, and you, our shareholders, for your continued support. Thank you. I will now hand back to Andrew to proceed with the formal business of the meeting.
Thank you, Sophia. We will now move to answering shareholder questions. We'll start with questions that were received in advance of the meeting from shareholders before opening it up to those on the floor. Where there were multiple questions on the same topic, we have amalgamated these. Emma, could I please get you to read out the first pre-submitted question?
Thank you, Andrew. The first question is, what is the Board and the Senior Management team doing to improve shareholder return?
Improving shareholder returns is obviously at the center of the Board and management's focus. Over the past year, we've taken deliberate steps to strengthen the business, including appointing new leadership, optimizing our governance, and diversifying through our strategic partnerships. The Board has worked closely with management to sharpen MFG 's strategic priorities, focusing on investment performance, continued cost discipline, as well as capital efficiency. As you've heard, we've also updated our dividend policy to return at least 80% of operating profits from full year 2026, and in full year 2025, we returned over AUD 200 million through dividends and buybacks. Operationally, senior management has been implementing initiatives to drive improved investment outcomes, to rebuild assets under management, and to enhance client relationships. While some of these actions take time to flow through to returns, the direction is clear.
We are rebuilding the foundations for long-term, sustainable value creation for our shareholders.
Thank you, Andrew. The next pre-submitted question is, when can we expect a significant improvement to the share price?
As we outlined in the earlier presentation and in my previous answer just now, we remain focused on building long-term value. Sophia and her executive team are driving a clear strategic agenda aimed at strengthening our core business, leveraging our institutional-grade platform, and diversifying the business through strategic priority partnerships, positioning the company, therefore, for sustainable growth. Our focus on delivering strong outcomes for our clients will ultimately drive strong growth in the share price, and that really remains our key priority.
The next question is, will the company increase its dividend?
Thank you for that. For full year 2025, the total dividend paid was AUD 0.733/ share, which included a special dividend of AUD 0.21, which was up 12.6% from the previous year. Following the announcement of our full year 2025 results, and touched on earlier, we have adopted a new dividend policy from 2026 onwards, and under this policy, we do intend to return at least 80% of operating profits to shareholders. This approach reflects the growth of our partnership contribution and aligns with our updated strategy, positioning us to deliver consistent returns over time. Given the nature of our business, it is dependent on the results year on year, but if we can achieve the sustained growth that we expect in the underlying business, this will be matched by sustained dividend growth instep.
The next question is, why are we paying such high director fees when the company is experiencing a steady decline of AUM, revenue, and profit?
Thanks, Emma. The Board's fees reflect the quality of directors we've brought in to reposition MFG and are in line with the broader market. While the business faced challenges in the past, it is in a much stronger position today with the right leadership and foundations in place to restore confidence and to deliver our growth strategy. You may also recall in my opening remarks that all the directors will shortly be standing down from the subsidiary company, Magellan Asset Management , and this will see an overall reduction in total director fees for 2026 and beyond.
The next question received is, how is MFG improving its ethical and sustainable operations and investment principles year- on- year?
MFG has a publicly available ESG policy, which defines our approach in this area and is an area we are strongly focused on. During 2025, we strengthened our responsible investment principles, expanding the expectations for our portfolio companies on governance, remuneration, climate change, diversity, inclusion, and responsible AI, reflecting global best practices that support long-term value creation and client outcomes, while deepening our research on sustainability issues through active industry engagement. We continue to monitor and challenge ourselves on doing more, and you'll see this in coming years as we continue to evolve and develop our approach in this regard.
Thank you, Andrew. The final pre-submitted question is, are you happy to have sold your stake in the Guzman & Gomez business and allowed an IPO for a vastly improved result? It seems you left too much on the table with this deal.
Thank you. We don't look at it that way. We sold our stake in Guzman & Gomez in 2022 on what the Board saw as highly appealing terms around price, certainty, and speed. Whilst I was not on the Board at that time, I have been assured that there was a majority of shareholders urging us to demonstrate value in the investment we had made in GYG. The sale price itself represented a 36% premium to our entry price and was at the top end of our own internal valuation range. We also achieved the sale at a time when valuations across global quick-serve restaurant businesses were falling materially. The Board also put in place a mechanism that enabled us to share in the future upside from the continued performance of GYG through an additional contingent payment driven by future growth and success at GYG.
This has enabled us to book a further AUD 6 million profit from the sale, which will be reflected in our interim full year 2026 results. Overall, we're very pleased with the outcome we were able to deliver to shareholders and believe we have demonstrated our ability to deliver positive outcome for clients from our investments. Our current partnership investments are all performing well, and we are confident of their long-term value to our shareholders.
Thank you, Chairman. That concludes the questions received in advance of today's meeting. We will now move to questions from the floor. Please raise your blue or yellow card to ask your question. Once called upon, a MFG representative will come over to you with a microphone, and please do not ask your question until you have received the microphone. We request that you ask a maximum of two questions to allow all shareholders an opportunity to ask their questions. Please also state your name and, where appropriate, who you are representing before asking your question.
Hello. Thank you very much. Alan Golden, I am a security holder, and representing ASA, I have proxies for 70 people, 70 other security holders. I'll ask two. I'll sit down. I'll ask some more afterwards. Firstly, why is Mr., and I apologize for mispronouncing his first name, Peeyush Gupta? Why is he going to be on your board for virtually a year before we get to vote on him?
Thank you for your question, Alan. We've been doing an extended search for a new director. We've only just concluded that search. We were not in a position to be able to appoint him ahead of the AGM today, unfortunately. We were keen to get his experience on the Board as soon as we could, which is why we're very pleased he's actually able to, given his other commitments, able to start from the 1st of November. We do assure you at next year's AGM, you will have the ability to vote on his election at that point. It's just a matter of timing of both the process of going through these and the busy timetable that people like Peeyush would have.
Okay. It's always funny, these timings that happen. You're by no means unique in it, in companies appointing a director a couple of months, a month, in this case, a couple of weeks after an AGM. Anyhow, just on that appointment, without commenting on Mr. Gupta's qualifications, which I'm sure are very good, everyone on this board, in this room basically, but especially on the board, is much younger than me, and that's great, but you aren't young enough. I mean, if you are looking at expanding the business that you're in and going into these other investments, you're looking at doing investments in new industries, in new financial industries that are going to be using new methodology than we use today. The people who understand that are younger than us.
Why are you not looking at those sort of people as opposed to this very experienced financial man, which is excellent, but why weren't you looking at younger people?
It's a good point. Firstly, we definitely look at that as part of the executive ranks and the Senior Management team that Sophia puts together. We're looking to get a broad range of skills and experiences for that very reason. At the Board level, we constantly are reviewing our Board skill matrix, and to your point, where there's deficiencies in that area, that will become a key focus for us in future searches. We will continue to add directors to the Board as rotation of existing directors drops off. It gives us an opportunity to look for that very area.
I know exactly what you're highlighting around the very fast-changing nature of financial services, particularly where technology is having an impact on that, and that remains a critical area for us in terms of not just at a Board level, but also at the executive level and other employees in the business. Where necessary, we're employing outside support and counsel to support us in that regard. As a Board, we're actively involved in making sure that there's strategy presentations from people who can bring us and maintain our awareness of that ecosystem and that development there. It's a constant part of the Board agenda. I assure you, in the early part of December, we're having a Board strategy day where that's the key feature of what the Board experience will be to make sure that we remain up to speed on all the key developments in that space.
Thank you.
Looks like the floor might be yours again, Mr. Golden. We do have a question. After that, we'll move to the gentleman over here. Thank you.
Thank you very much. My name is Bruce Bennett, and I've been a shareholder for quite a while. When the share price was over AUD 60, that was quite an interesting time to buy into the company. I think some other people here may have bought the shares at higher than AUD 10, what they are now. We're all a bit jaded by what's happened, and it's been a long time, but things haven't improved. Anyway, just a couple of comments and then an inquiry. I noticed the photos on the screen don't really reflect the board people who are ahead of us. I know you want to refresh, but using AI to make you look 20 years younger doesn't really do much for the image of the company. Are you trying to fraudulently tell people that we're really young when we're not?
On that point, I'll follow up on the point about the IT thing. It's not just this company, but many Australian companies lack anyone with IT background on their board. It's wonderful to have presentations on this, and we hear about this, but unless you've actually got someone who's been in there, in the trenches, knows what's going on, when things happen on the board and they ask for advice, having that person who's had that experience is so much better than just, oh, I'm aware of something or ask somebody. I really think that those looking out for that IT expertise on the board is something that really needs to be given priority. My question, it relates to one of your businesses, and if you might comment on it, the FCX platform partnership.
I would like to know a bit more about that because I feel, even though the Section 296 has been changed to be AUD 10 million, there are a lot of wealthy individuals out there who've got properties or businesses, and they want to work out some way that they can make them into a shareholding, and as a privately unlisted company, then float some of those shares off. It might be someone who's inherited a business and wants to float the thing off. I just think that the FCX platform has got tremendous potential for all those unlisted businesses that want to provide some liquidity for some of the long-term investors. If you have someone who could talk a bit more about that, I'd really appreciate it. Thank you.
Bruce, thank you for your comments. Apologies if our photos look doctored. I'm not sure that was the case, but we'll take that on board. In terms of your point around IT experience, similar to what Alan brought up, we do actively take that on board, both your comments, and it's an ongoing program. We do expect to be looking at adding a new director over the next 12 months or so. I think that's a key consideration we'll have, and we'll make sure that that's factored into our decision and points associated with that. That's not lost on us. In regard to FCX itself, yes, it's a component of the FinClear business that, as you know, we own a 16% investment in. FCX is actually a very interesting business. It's still in its embryonic stage, but it's the first blockchain-based, fully licensed, regulated exchange in the world.
Going back to where Magellan often has been associated with world-leading developments and innovations, it's great to see a partnership company sort of doing that. To your point around, can and will it facilitate private businesses to be able to seek liquidity events by remaining private, that's absolutely its intention. I would say it's still very, very early in the development of that, but that's exactly the direction it's going. I don't see anyone else in the world offering something similar to that at this point, and therefore, it is quite unique in what it's doing. It actually had its first auction under that process very recently, about two months ago, for a business called The Future Group, where they did additional fundraising and allowed existing shareholders who'd been with the business for 10 years to exit through that.
That was very successfully done, and it was a good proof of concept. What I would say is, hopefully, in the coming years, we'll be able to talk and demonstrate the value of that much more. If you have time after this meeting, there's one of our employees, Alex Ferguson, who will be in attendance at the back. He's our board representative on FinClear, and he knows a lot more detail about where FCX is in its development. I'm very happy to connect you to him after this, if that helps as well, so you can get some greater understanding of where they're at.
I just think it's something we should be promoting a lot more. That's what I think. No, sorry. I just think that's a product that you should be promoting a lot more because of its unique benefits that it provides. I mean, I've been involved in several unlisted companies, and the ASX listing rules to get an IPO are just horrendous, very costly. They say, oh, you didn't get this particular audit report for something else and something else and something else, and it's impossible. Whereas this gives all those unlisted companies a great opportunity to provide liquidity, and I think it's something you should be promoting very, very hard. Anyway, thank you.
Thank you. We are excited about its potential.
Thank you. One of my questions, I got to think about that. One of the things that you mentioned about the director's skill matrix, why did you keep it secret? Why is it not in the annual report? It says that you did one, but you don't tell us about it. Why?
It's a very good point. It's a very good challenge, and I'll undertake to take that away. I would expect to have that showing in the annual report accounts, and I'd like to take that on board. Next one, we should look to adopt that.
Good. Great. We're happy to hear it. The other thing is, why are you one of the very few, I can think of one other, ASX 200 companies that doesn't have a minimum shareholding level for your directors, for your Non-Executive Directors?
Again, it's something that I haven't really focused on given some of the other things we've had. I know you raised this in some of the earlier engagement with us, and it's something we'll take on board. I think that's, again, a valid challenge that we'll take on board, and hopefully, we can address that in the next 12 months ahead of the next AGM.
Good. It'll be great to see that. I'll do a third question, even though I was only doing two, but no one else was around. Why don't you do any projections for results, for 2026 results?
Do you mean any guidance?
Dividends, profit, anything.
Yeah. The nature of our business is so dependent on what happens in financial markets, given what we earn. The majority of our revenues come from the earnings based on the assets under management, which fluctuate based on the underlying markets themselves. To have a projection on that basis, we don't think is reasonable and could be misleading. However, what we have tried to do is give guidance based on whatever those outcomes, what your dividend expectations can be. There are many others out there in the financial community who do publish views of where markets might do and what that might mean for our business. They're a good proxy for you to consider what the potential earning profile, not just this year, in future years, could be based on their assumptions, and I would say it's based on their assumptions. Out of that will come dividends as well.
Providing guidance in a business that has such dependency on external factors, predominantly the global equity markets, we think is just misleading and unhelpful.
Okay.
If there are no other questions from the floor, if there are, please raise your blue or yellow card now. If not, I'm not seeing any cards raised, we will move to questions received via the webcast. The first one I can address straight up, which is, will a webcast of this event be available later? Yes, I can confirm that the webcast from today's proceedings will be available on MFG's website later today. The second question is, how much of a risk, rather, does Magellan see in Macquarie's reported move to purge funds of managers with less than AUD 300 billion of FUM from its super platform? How much of Magellan's retail FUM is held on platforms, specifically Macquarie's super/pension ones?
I'm happy to answer that if you'd like me to. Thank you very much for the question. Look, we see this as an interesting development and are very much engaged with Macquarie as they work through the regulatory pressure that they're seeking to address through some of these changes. We do have a reasonable size relationship with the Macquarie superannuation platform. Just stepping back, across our MFG funds, we're represented on all of the platforms across the industry. Macquarie is one of those, but it's not an overly concentrated part of our business. We have, let's say, a couple of hundred million dollars on that platform. We are working with Macquarie through that, and we're looking for an outcome later this week on how impacted we may be. It may be to the positive, it may be to the negative.
That's something that we're working through, but we do feel like we're more likely to get a positive result on that one.
Thank you, Sophia. Just a reminder, if you would like to ask a question on the webcast, there's a live Q&A button on the right-hand side of the screen, which you can click on. That does conclude all the questions that we've received to date online, and it doesn't look like there are any more questions in the room. Having given shareholders a reasonable opportunity to ask their questions today, we believe it is now time to conclude the Q&A and move into the order of business for today.
Thank you, Emma. I'm advised by the Company Secretary that the holders of approximately 96 million of the company's ordinary shares have sent in proxies. In my capacity as Chairman of the company, I have been appointed as proxy by the holders of between 95.8 million and 96.1 million of the company's ordinary shares, depending on the relevant resolution being decided today. Where any of the proxies for items two to five, inclusive, are open and subject to voting exclusions, votes will be cast in favor of those resolutions to be put to the meeting. There will be opportunities for shareholders to ask questions concerning the resolutions before each motion is put to the vote. Unless there is strong objection, I will announce the proxy voting results before the vote is taken for each resolution.
The proxy voting figures will be as at the closing time for receipt of proxies, which was 11:00 A.M. on Monday, the 20th of October 2025. These figures may change if a shareholder who has submitted a proxy has attended the meeting today and revoked their proxy. I would now like to appoint David Parkinson from Boardroom Proprietary Limited as Returning Officer. The Returning Officer will arrange for the counting of the votes in accordance with the voting exclusions as set out in the notice of meeting. Following the polls, the meeting will be closed and the votes tallied, and the results of the polls will be released to the ASX later today. They will also be made available on our website. I now propose to proceed with the items of business which were set out in the notice of meeting.
The first item of business on the agenda deals with the financial statement and reports for the year ended 30th of June 2025, including the Director's Report and the Auditor's Report, and these have now been tabled. No resolution is required in relation to this agenda item, and no written questions solely of the company's auditors have been received from shareholders. I will now take questions from the floor in relation to this item. If you wish to ask a question, please raise your blue or yellow card. There appears to be no questions from the floor. I'll go to Emma. Are there any questions from the webcast in relation to this item?
No, no questions have been received from the webcast.
Okay, thank you. Let's turn to the resolution requiring approvals. Item two concerns the adoption of MFG's remuneration report. This report forms part of the Director's Report, which is contained in the company's annual report. The resolution you'll be voting on now appears up here on the screen. I will take the resolution as read, and I now move to consider item two, adoption of the remuneration report, as contained in the notice of meeting and as it appears on the screen. I point out that the vote on this resolution is advisory only and is non-binding. Before putting the motion to a vote, I would like to invite any questions or comments on the remuneration report. If you wish to ask a question, please raise your blue or yellow card. I think we have a question here.
Thanks a lot. Just on your LTI, STI, as I'll need, on the LTI, why is the comparator group that you have one LTI measurement? It is your TSR compared to a comparator group. Why don't you list the comparator group? I know I've been given the comparator group. Why hasn't everyone been given it? Why isn't it in the annual report? Why isn't it in the notice of meeting?
It's a good question. As you said, you raised this with us ahead of the AGM, and we were able to send that to you. There's actually no real good reason, and it is our intention that going forward, we will adopt it in the annual report and accounts and be showing that comparator group. You picked up a good point. It was more an oversight than any other reason. We're listening to shareholder feedback, and we will be sitting there adopting that.
Great. Happy to hear it. Hopefully, you'll also think about a second measure, not just the comparative TSR.
Yes, some people do have two metrics. It remains one of the debates that we have at the Remuneration Committee, whether we should be adopting it. We haven't at this stage for the second tranche of LTI, but it remains something that we're constantly considering, and we do note yours and other shareholders' comments on this, and it's something we have under active consideration.
Thank you.
Are there any other questions from the floor in regard to agenda item two? If not, can I see if there's any questions from the webcast?
No questions from the webcast.
No questions? Okay. Thank you. The proxy voting results for this resolution can now be seen on the screen. We will now proceed to voting. As Chairman, I exercise my power to direct that the vote on item two is to be taken by way of a poll. As set out in the notice of meeting and subject to voting exclusions, I will vote all undirected proxies in favor of this resolution. Please submit your votes now in relation to item two. Okay, we might now move to item three, which is as part of our continued commitment to strengthening MFG's governance, Deborah Page was appointed during the year as MFG's Lead Independent Director, recognizing that I am not considered independent due to my previous service as Executive Chair.
I will shortly hand the chair over to Deborah as item three concerns my reelection to the board, but before I do so, I would like to highlight a few points. I was first appointed to the board on the 26th of July 2023. I was appointed Chairman of MFG on the 18th of August 2023 and elected at the company's AGM on the 8th of November 2023. I will retire in accordance with the company's constitution and ASX Listing Rule 14.5 and, being eligible, offer myself for reelection. I'd like to make a few remarks regarding my reelection. It's actually been a privilege to serve on the board of MFG for more than two years now.
For those unfamiliar with my background, I have spent more than 30 years in the investment management industry, most notably as Chief Executive Officer of Henderson Group and later the Co-CEO of Janus Henderson Investors. Across these roles, I gained deep understanding and experience in leading global fund management businesses through periods of significant industry change, with a strong focus on investment excellence, client outcomes, and long-term value creation for shareholders. Since joining MFG, I've been pleased to contribute to the company's reset and transformation journey, including a period as Executive Chairman from October 2023 to February 2025. Together with my fellow directors, we have focused on stabilizing the business, reinforcing our governance and culture, and supporting the management team as they execute on their strategic priorities.
I've been particularly encouraged by the quality and dedication of our investment teams, whose commitment to delivering strong, sustainable returns for clients underpins everything we do. Looking ahead, there remains much more work to do. The board is committed to positioning MFG for long-term growth, ensuring disciplined capital management, and broadening our investment capabilities to meet the evolving needs of our clients. With your support, I look forward to continuing to bring my global perspective and industry experience to the board as we guide MFG through the next phase of its journey. Thank you for your ongoing trust and support. I'd now like to hand over to the chair, to the Lead Independent Director, Deborah Page.
Thank you, Andrew. I was going to say good morning, but I think I've just heard the bells toll, so it's probably just clicked over noon. Thank you all for coming today. The Board, excluding Andrew Formica, unanimously supports his reelection. The precise resolution shareholders will be voting on now appears on the screen. Unless I hear to the contrary, I will also take the resolution as read. I now move to consider item three, the reelection of Andrew Formica, as contained in the notice of meeting and as it appears on the screen. We will now open for any questions on this resolution from the floor. If you wish to ask a question on this resolution, please raise your blue or yellow card. Doesn't appear to be any on the floor. I will now take questions received from the webcast in relation to this item.
There have been no questions received from the webcast.
Thank you, Emma. The proxy voting results for this resolution can be seen on the screen. We will now proceed to voting. As Chair for this resolution, I exercise my power to direct that the vote on item three is to be taken by way of a poll. As set out in the notice of meeting, I will vote all undirected proxies in favor of this resolution. Please submit your vote in relation to item three. I will now hand the Chair back to Andrew Formica.
Thank you, Deborah. And thank you, shareholders, for your vote of confidence. I'd now like to move to item four. This concerns a proposed grant of performance rights, restricted shares, and matching awards to Ms. Sophia Rahmani under the MFG Equity Plan. Details regarding the proposed grant are set out in the notice of meeting. Schedule one of the notice of meeting contains a summary of the key terms of the MFG Equity Plan, under which it is proposed that the performance rights and restricted shares and matching awards be issued. The Board of Directors, with Ms. Rahmani abstaining, unanimously recommend that you vote in favor of item four. The precise resolution shareholders will be voting on now appears on the screen. Unless I hear to the contrary, I'll also take this resolution as read.
I now move to consider item four, the approval of the grant of performance rights, restricted shares, and matching awards to Ms. Sophia Rahmani under the MFG Equity Plan, as contained in the notice of meeting and as it is now appearing on the screen. If you wish to ask a question on this resolution, please raise your blue or yellow card now. There appears to be no questions taken in the floor. Emma, is there any questions on the webcast?
No questions on the webcast.
Okay. Thank you for that. The proxy voting results for this resolution can now be seen on the screen. I would now like to proceed to voting. As Chairman for this resolution, I exercise my power to direct that the vote on item four be taken by way of a poll. As set out in the notice of meeting, I will vote all undirected proxies in favor of this resolution. Can you please submit your vote in relation to item four now? Thank you. We now might move to item five. Item five concerns the approval of the appointment of KPMG as MFG's external auditor. Details regarding the proposed resolution are set out in the notice of meeting.
Board of Directors unanimously recommends that you vote in favor of item five. The precise resolution shareholders will be voting on is now appearing on the screen. Again, unless I hear to the contrary, I will take the resolution as read. I now move to consider item five, the approval of the appointment of external auditor as contained in the notice of meeting and as it appears now on screen. If you wish to ask a question on this resolution, please raise your blue or yellow card now. There are no questions from the floor, so I'll ask Emma if there are any questions on the webcast.
There are no questions on the webcast.
Thank you. The proxy voting result for this resolution can now be seen on the screen. I would like to now proceed to voting. As Chairman for this resolution, I exercise my power to direct that the vote on item five is to be taken by way of a poll. As set out in the notice of meeting, I will vote all undirected proxies in favor of this resolution. Please submit your vote in relation to item five now. Thank you for that. At the conclusion of this AGM, EY will resign as MFG's auditor. On behalf of the Board, I would like to again express our deepest thanks to EY for their services to MFG. That now concludes the items of business. I will now pause to allow you time to finalize any other part of your voting.
Please ensure that you have cast your vote on all resolutions as I will declare the polls closed after this pause. It appears that everyone seems to have concluded their voting, so I now declare the polls closed. I ask you to please hand your voting cards to the returning officer on your way out. The results of today's votes will be released to the ASX later today and made available on MFG's website. There being no further business, the meeting is closed. Thank you for your attendance today and interest in MFG. My fellow Board members will be delighted if you could join us for tea and coffee outside, as well as if you've taken the opportunity to connect with our investment teams. Thank you.