Good morning, all. My name is Emma Pringle. I am the Head of Stakeholder Engagement and Sustainability and will be moderating today's Annual General Meeting. Before we commence today's proceedings, I would like to start by acknowledging the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of this land, and pay my respects to elders both past and present. I will start with some housekeeping matters. This AGM is an in-person event being live-streamed for those who could not make it today. If there are any questions from shareholders or proxy holders, we will be happy to address them. Shareholders viewing today's AGM on the live stream were given the opportunity to submit questions ahead of the AGM.
We will address questions received prior to the meeting following the first item of business, and there will be an opportunity to ask further questions from the floor during the meeting 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 orange or blue card, and we will call upon you to ask your question. Once called upon, a representative will come over to you with a microphone. Please do not ask your question until you have received the microphone. We will seek to allow as many shareholders to ask questions as possible. Please also state your name and, where appropriate, state who you are representing before asking your question. Moving on to how to vote.
Upon registration, shareholders and proxy holders eligible to vote would have received an orange voting card that provides for 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 a resolution should mark the "For" box. Shareholders who wish to vote against the resolution should mark the "Against" box. Shareholders who wish to abstain from voting on a resolution should mark the "Abstain" box. Abstentions will not be counted in computing the required majority for the poll. Your voting cards will be collected after the final resolution has been put at this meeting, but you may deposit them in the collection box at any time prior to that if you wish.
If you are a proxy holder, you must comply with the direction of the shareholder in which to lodge a valid vote. If you have already submitted a proxy vote, your existing vote will be canceled if you vote again today. I will now hand over to the Chair, David Gonski, to formally open today's meeting.
Thank you, Emma. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am David Gonski, and I am the Chair of Magellan Financial Group Limited. On behalf of our board, I welcome each of you here to our 2026 annual general meeting, which I now declare formally open, as there is a quorum present. I also extend a warm welcome to those shareholders watching today's live stream, and I too acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the land on which this building is standing.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am now going to, if I may, move to introducing our directors. Andrew Formica, our deputy chairman, is here. Paul Compton, who has come all the way from overseas to be here, is with us. John Eales is here, who needs no introduction. Peeyush Gupta is here. Fiona Hick is here as well. Cathy Kovacs is here, as is Dr Philip Lowe.
Kelly O'Dwyer is here and Deborah Page as well. Our chief executive officer, as you will see, is sitting over there, Brian Benari. And our company secretaries, Annette Spencer, who is also our general counsel, is here, as is Sam Mosse. I also acknowledge the attendance today of many of the members of our executive team. We also welcome Karen Hopkins and Tom Elliott, who are partners from the company's external auditors, KPMG. There are representatives of our share registry, Boardroom Proprietary Limited, here as well. Ladies and gentlemen, I now move to the minutes of the previous annual general meeting, which was held on the 22nd of October 2025, and I also refer to the minutes of the extraordinary general meeting held on the 10th of April 2026. These have been approved by the board and signed by the chair of those meetings.
These meetings I have tabled, and they are available for inspection by any shareholder wishing to see them by contacting the company. Ladies and gentlemen, the notice of annual general meeting has been made available to all shareholders, and if I may, I will take the notice of meeting as read. I will now take a moment to outline this morning's agenda. I will shortly make some opening remarks. This will be followed by handing over to Brian Benari, our chief executive, to make his address. Following this, we will consider the formal items of business, which relate to the receipt of the company's financial statements and reports to 30th June 2026, the adoption of the remuneration report, the election and re-election of a number of directors, and the change of MFG's name to Barrenjoey Group Limited. If I may, I will now turn to the chair's address.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great privilege to stand before you as your chair for the first time at what is undoubtedly a very significant point in the company's history. 2026 has been a transformational year. On the 1st of July, we completed the merger of Magellan Financial Group and Barrenjoey Capital Partners, bringing together two highly complementary Australian financial services businesses. The merger reshapes your company into a diversified financial services group spanning financial markets, corporate finance, and investment management. Before I go further, I want to acknowledge with gratitude the people who made this possible. I refer to my predecessor as chairman, Andrew Formica, and the board he led. They have focused on diversifying MFG's business, and they have undoubtedly laid the foundations for this merger.
I also want to recognize Sophia Rahmani, who until recently was MFG's Chief Executive Officer, and the MFG executive team through this period of change. They've all worked together with Andrew and the board and undoubtedly have been instrumental in bringing this merger to completion. We thank them. It's worth remembering that MFG's relationship with Barrenjoey goes back many years. MFG was a cornerstone investor when Barrenjoey was established in September 2020. Over five years, Barrenjoey has grown from a startup into a diversified business with market-leading positions. Today, following the merger, the Barrenjoey growth story becomes the MFG group's growth story. One of the items you'll be voting on today is a resolution to change the company's name to Barrenjoey Group Limited, and our ASX ticker will be changed to BJY. This isn't a cosmetic change.
It reflects the scale and ambition of what has been built and the transition of your company from a single-line investment manager to a diversified financial group operating across multiple market segments. I'd encourage you to support this resolution, full details of which are set out in the notice of meeting. Brian Benari, our Chief Executive Officer, will in a few minutes provide more depth on the financial performance of the combined group. Let me provide you with some headlines. On a pro forma basis, as if the merger had completed a year earlier for the 2026 financial year, the combined group would have generated AUD 778 million of revenue and AUD 215 million of operating profit after tax in that financial year, 2026, with pro forma statutory net profit after tax of AUD 146 million.
This result demonstrates the scale of what we're building, with broadly equal revenue contributions from each of the three operating divisions of financial markets, corporate finance, and investment management. As the business continues to grow and scale, the diversified nature of the earning streams will provide shareholders with more resilient revenue streams. The group declared a franked second half dividend of AUD 0.255 per share, a payout ratio of 80%, consistent with MFG's existing policy and bringing full-year dividends to AUD 0.65 per share. Looking ahead, the board has determined a dividend policy for the combined group, targeting a payout ratio of between 60% and 90% of operating profit after tax, and we expect to initially sit towards the top end of that range. It's worth reflecting on the caliber of the platform this merger has created, because it brings together two different but equally hard-won growth stories.
In just six years, Barrenjoey has scaled from a startup to rank number one in M&A, in equity sales, and in research, with one of Australia's leading fixed income franchises, a research team covering around 250 listed companies, and with more number one-rated analysts than the rest of the market combined. Alongside that now sits MFG's investment management business. Approaching 20 years in market, with public market step across multiple strategies and client relationships built with advisors and institutions over those two decades. Neither of those things, five years of compounding growth or 20 years of client trust, can be manufactured overnight, and this merger now gives shareholders the benefit of both, sitting side by side in one group. Ladies and gentlemen, you'll also be asked today to consider and vote on seven director elections and reelections.
This is Resolutions 2 to Resolution 8, reflecting a reconstituted board formed from both businesses. Five Directors who served on the Barrenjoey board, Paul Compton, Fiona Hick, Dr Philip Lowe, Kelly O'Dwyer, and myself, joined on the 1st of July of this year and are standing for election for the first time. Deborah Page, who continues as Chair of our Audit Committee, is standing for re-election. Peeyush Gupta, who joined last November, is standing for election this year. Ladies and gentlemen, I would also like to sincerely thank John Eales, who retires at the conclusion of this AGM. He has been a wonderful Director and a great participant, and we thank him sincerely. I also note David Dixon, who retired from the board in July, and thank him as well.
Ahead of today, each candidate, whether it be for election or re-election, recorded a short video available on our website, along with their biographies, which are set out in the notice of meeting, thus giving shareholders the chance to hear from them directly. The board recommends a vote in favor of each Director standing for either election or re-election. Along with those Directors who are not up for election today, Andrew Formica and Cathy Kovacs, we have a board of committed and deeply experienced Directors with a deep mix of skills, perspective, and independence to oversee our group going forward. You will also be asked today to vote on the remuneration report, which covers the year to 30th June 2026, a period prior to the merger. John Eales, as Chair of the Remuneration Committee, will take any questions shareholders might have on both MFG's remuneration approach and the report itself.
Bringing two businesses of this scale together is not a simple undertaking, and I want to thank everyone across both organizations for their efforts that they have taken this year. Integration is progressing to plan, and management's focus now turns to capturing the benefits of the merger while continuing to invest for growth, including extending our client reach internationally, building out investment management, and establishing Barrenjoey New Zealand. I am confident we have the right people, the right financial resources, and the right oversight in place to deliver on the opportunity in front of us. On behalf of the board, thank you to everyone across the expanded group for their dedication this year, and thank you to our shareholders for your continued support and confidence. I now hand over to Brian, who will take you through the business in more detail.
Thank you very much, David, and good morning, everyone. It is a privilege to address you today as the CEO of the combined MFG and Barrenjoey businesses. This has been a landmark year, and I want to use my time today to give you a sense of where the business stands, how it performed, and where we are taking it. On 1 July, we completed the merger, bringing together MFG's institutional-grade investment management platform and capabilities with Barrenjoey's leading financial markets and corporate finance franchises. The rationale for the merger was straightforward: an enhanced client proposition, a more diversified and resilient business, and a stronger balance sheet to fund growth. Less than four months on, I can tell you that that rationale is playing out.
We now operate across three balanced business lines, financial markets, corporate finance, and investment management, with diversified revenue streams resulting in a group that isn't reliant on any single market cycle or client segment, smoothing earnings through the cycle. As you heard from David, on a pro forma basis, as if we'd been one company for the full year to 30 June 2026, the combined group generated AUD 778 million worth of revenue and AUD 215 million of operating profit after tax. Standalone MFG revenue was AUD 246 million, roughly a third, down 11%, largely reflecting lower investment management fees, partially offset by stronger partnership income from MFG's investment in Barrenjoey. Investment management fees were, and continue to be, impacted by outflows from the Heritage Global Equity strategies.
MFG management acted during the year, appointing Vinva as investment manager for these funds and materially reducing fees, a decision that carries a short-term cost but positions the strategy as a competitive, cost-effective core offering for the long term. Barrenjoey's standalone performance was strong. Revenue of AUD 573 million, up 34%, with growth across all of three of its business lines. Operating profit after tax up 68% to AUD 112 million. Importantly, return on equity approached 33%, and operating leverage is emerging. We've also taken steps to reduce earnings volatility in our results going forward. As part of bringing the businesses together, we reviewed how cash and capital is invested across the group, including group investments in MFG funds.
As part of this review, AUD 251 million was redeemed from the various MFG funds and is now managed by the group's combined treasury team, investing in cash and high-quality liquid fixed income. This means a modest reduction in investment earnings, but importantly, a meaningful reduction in risk and earnings volatility. Underlying all of this is a business mix that I think is genuinely attractive. Financial markets and corporate finance bring diversified transaction-based revenue. Investment management, on the other hand, provides more durable annuity-style earnings. Having exposure across that whole spectrum rather than being concentrated at any one end of it is central to the investment case for the group. We have started FY2027 with a focus on integrating the two businesses and realizing the merger benefits. Integration is running well ahead of schedule.
Our teams are now all co-located, and we expect to be on common core systems by the end of November and to be in complete full integration by 30 June 2027. We also expect to realize more synergies than initially forecast. Synergies to be realized through bringing the two businesses together is now forecast to reach AUD 15 million per year, up from the initial AUD 6 million announced at the time of the merger. We're also seeing tangible benefits with Barrenjoey's origination capability, combining with MFG's distribution reach to bring alternative asset funds to the market, and we have new products, and we'll be bringing these to the market through the year. Looking ahead, our priorities are clear. First, completing the integration and capturing the benefits of the merger. This is our top priority for the year. Second, extending our offering and client reach internationally.
To this end, we've secured a US swap dealer license for our fixed income business and executed our first U.S. trades just weeks ago, and we're growing our presence in Abu Dhabi and New York. Thirdly, continuing to build out our investment management, adding new capabilities in both private capital and listed equities to meet a clear client need. Finally, building Barrenjoey in New Zealand, where we've hired an excellent local team. We see this as a multi-year investment with build and establishment through 2027, commencement in 2028, and the benefits emerging from 2029. Let me turn briefly to trading conditions. In the opening months of this financial year, global bond markets experienced significant rate movements, which impacted earnings in our financial markets business. However, these conditions have largely abated.
For the first quarter, financial markets revenue was materially lower than the run rate achieved in the first half last year. With respect to the investment management, AUM for the quarter was down 8% to AUD 38 billion, primarily caused by the higher bond yields, also impacting listed infrastructure valuations and outflows. Our corporate finance franchise and activity levels remain strong. Regarding the integration of MFG and Barrenjoey, all central support functions, including human resources, finance, legal, and risk, and compliance, just to name a few, will be substantially integrated by the end of November, ahead of schedule. Synergies, as noted, are expected to be upgraded from the initial AUD 6 million to AUD 15 million per annum due to headcount savings, with the benefits to fully flow through in FY2028.
Importantly, we continue to invest in talent in the areas where we see substantial longer-term growth opportunities across our businesses, and particularly in this, our merger year. To bring it together, this has been a landmark year in which we completed a complex merger, repositioned the Heritage Global Equity investment strategies, and materially de-risked the balance sheet. Our group today is genuinely diversified, with the right foundations for our next phase of growth, and we intend to keep building with the same structured and disciplined approach that has defined Barrenjoey since it began. I want to thank our exceptional team across both businesses, and thank you, our shareholders, for your continued support and confidence as we build this business together. Really appreciate it. Thank you, and I'll now hand back to David.
Thank you, Brian. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm advised by the Company Secretary that the holders of approximately 209 million of the company's ordinary shares have submitted proxies. In my capacity as Chair of the meeting, I've been appointed as proxy holder by the holders of between 206.3 million and 206.5 million of the company's ordinary shares, depending on the relevant resolution being decided today. Where any of the proxies for resolutions one to nine are open, subject to voting exclusions, I will cast those votes in favor of those resolutions. I will announce the proxy voting results before the vote is taken on each resolution, and I note that the closing time for receipt of proxies was at 9:00 A.M. Sydney time, Tuesday the 20th of October 2026.
The proxy figures shown may change, as all of you would be probably aware, if a shareholder submitted a proxy but has also attended the meeting today and thereby revoked their proxy. I appoint Alyssa David from Boardroom Proprietary Limited as the returning officer. The returning officer will arrange for the counting of the votes in accordance with the voting exclusions as set out in our notice of meeting.
Following the polls, the meeting will be closed and the votes tallied. The results of the polls will be released to the ASX later today when available. They will also be made available on our company's website. Ladies and gentlemen, I now propose to proceed to the items of business. These are set out in the notice of meeting. The first item of business on the agenda deals with the financial statements and reports for the year ended 30th of June 2026.
These include the directors' report and the auditors' report, which have been tabled. No resolution is required in relation to this agenda item, and we will now move to answering shareholder questions on this item. We will start with questions that we have received in advance of the meeting from shareholders before we open to questions from all of you on the floor. Emma, I wonder if she could come and please read the first pre-submitted question.
Thank you, David. There are a number of questions asked in advance of the AGM by one shareholder. They are focused on share price performance and what is required to rerate the MFG share price. They can be combined into the following question, which is: Could the board outline a roadmap or the catalysts and milestones required to improve the share price and to increase shareholder value?
Thank you very much, and I believe we have properly combined those questions. I believe, ladies and gentlemen, as you will have heard from our CEO, that the board and management are focused upon growing and delivering shareholder value. One of the great benefits we believe of the merger is that there are now really three engines that can drive this growth. There are basically the investment management business, as we hope to supplement over time, the corporate advisory business, and financial markets business. We are all very motivated to make sure that growth occurs over time. Those of you who have looked at the structure of our company will see that our management own a great number of shares in the company, and indeed, depend on that to do very well to reward them for their excellent, and hopefully, very meritorious work. We are all motivated towards that.
We believe that there is growth in each of the three, if I may call them, engines, and I think Brian has mentioned the way we are looking at going forward, and I believe we will look to growth in the longer term. Do we have any other questions?
No. Thank you, Chair. That does conclude the questions received in advance of today's meeting.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, may I open it up to questions from the floor in relation, if we may, to this non-resolution situation, namely our balance sheet and so on to 2026 or 30th June 2026? Please, if you would just wait to put your hand up, and when a microphone comes, just identify yourself and ask the question. David.
Good morning, Chair. David Kingston, K Capital. Look, firstly, genuine congratulations to the Barrenjoey team. I think it is outstanding that over six years, you have built a business, or the team has built a business that, at the date of the merger announcement, was capitalized at AUD 1.6 billion. So, would have been a difficult challenge six years ago, but congratulations to everyone. It is great to hear from Brian today that 6 million synergies have been updated to 15, which is a very promising increase. Look, today, just a couple of brief comments, Chair, and then a couple of questions, please. Today, it is a tale of two opposites. Barrenjoey, on the one hand, outstanding growth, operating profit after tax, FY2024, AUD 38 million. FY2025, AUD 67 million. FY2026, AUD 112 million. Well done.
Conversely, as we know, in the Magellan funds management business, between 2022 and 2026 five-year period, the average FUM has declined from AUD 94 billion to AUD 39 billion, and the net fees over that five-year period have declined from AUD 605 million to AUD 193 million. A very evocative headline after the August 2026 results, Chair. Macquarie, I appreciate they are a competitor, but their evocative headline in their research report was, quote, "Clear as mud." As I said, I appreciate they are a competitor. To clarify, Chair, the mud, or Brian, whoever chooses, I would just be grateful if you could respond to two issues, please. Firstly, re Barrenjoey, and noting Brian has acknowledged trading profits are down in the first period year to date, which is understandable given the volatility. But fantastic growth over the six years since inception. But it is volatile out there.
There are big issues with American midterms, and heaven forbid, AOC might become president in two years' time. But Goldman Sachs is down 20% from the peak. I would just be grateful if perhaps Brian could clarify, what are the key risks you see to maintaining the outstanding growth? My second question, Chair, if maybe Brian could provide some color on the rationalization of Magellan transferring the global equities funds to Vinva at much lower fees. I would just be interested in why that is a better strategy than embarking upon a turnaround. Certainly, a number of intelligent people were a little bit surprised with that decision. A follow-up from that is, either Chair or Brian, do you believe the profits from Magellan's FUM have finally stabilized? Clearly, there has been two impacts there. FUM has declined substantially and fees per FUM have declined.
I think everyone will be interested in whether that decline has finished or is there stabilization and is there growth? Thank you very much.
David, thank you. Thank you for describing the situation in the world as mud. I think that should probably be a headline as well. So well done. Look, I will ask Brian to do two out of the three of the questions, but I will not let him answer the third one, and you know I will not, which is, have profits finally stabilized? I can say to you as Chairman, we are working very hard to make sure that in this new merger, which has three engines, as I referred to before, and does well in each of those engines. We will be working as hard, but I will not let him make a projection, and you know I will not. So, he is not to answer the third question. I will ask him, though, to do the two. David, you are a smart guy.
I don't want us to spend our time in this merger looking backwards. We think that, yes, Barrenjoey's done well, but the Magellan base is wonderful. The two together, we hope sincerely, this will demonstrate my bad math's, that two and two will make five. That's our job, and that's exactly what we're going to focus on. Do you want to deal with David's first two questions?
Certainly. Thanks very much, Chairman. David, thank you very much for the commentary and the background on those. When I think about this merger, this is all about creating diversification. You're a very experienced markets operator. You've been in the markets, you understand them. There are always cycles, and you're right. We saw this incredible bond period over, as you said, through to unprecedented moves almost that you've seen over this first quarter. In saying that, right at the moment, it feels like it's abated, which is good news. We've lived through these cycles for the last five years operating at Barrenjoey and for the last 20 years. What we recognize is that the most important thing as we build this organization is we continue to diversify it.
We're already obviously, we think about that diversification, not just in the perspective of having corporate finance, having financial markets, and having investment management, but within those businesses, making sure we're broadening the product set and broadening the client set. Very much that's our move about getting the U.S. swap dealer license so we can access U.S. markets. It's about setting up Abu Dhabi to access European markets. All of this has been about how can we continue to grow and build out the organization and diversify. We will inevitably see peaks and troughs and surges and pullbacks, and that's just part of the business. That diversification model that where we're at today versus what I would say MFG looked like going back six months ago is to the benefit of all the shareholders. I underscore David's comment.
What has us all very, very focused is that when you think about this organization is roughly one-third owned by the staff and the whole team, and we're all very focused and we're all very aligned to shareholders in making sure that we manage our way through these various different cycles. In respect to the fund, the original fund that was set up by Hamish Douglass 20 years ago was charging 135 basis points. If you were to look at benchmark rates across the market, that was really at the very much top end. That is not a contemporary level. One of the things that's important is, and we have to balance this, is the investors themselves in the funds, the shareholders and as investors.
But ultimately, we need to be making sure that the rate that is charged to the investor those funds is appropriate for what they're being delivered, and we need to make sure that that offering is a quality offering. With that, you would hope that you could try and stem some of the outflows that have been occurring. Importantly, irrespective of the outflows, which is to the benefit of the shareholder, which as I said, a third of the shareholders being staff, we need to make sure that this is priced appropriately and at contemporary levels, and hence why that change.
Now, recognizing that that rate had to change, we also went further, or the Magellan team went further, and that was replacing, if you like, the internal team with outsourcing that through to Vinva, who could do it at a much lower rate so that we could actually be manufacturing the product at a cheaper rate and passing on the benefits through to the ultimate investor. So, I think I'd congratulate the MFG exec team for taking those actions before such time as we actually merged, and I think they were the right move, and we certainly fully endorse it.
Thank you, Brian. Thank you, David. Other questions? No other questions?
Chair.
I didn't want to be greedy, but bearing in mind there are none others, I will follow up. As you say, Chair, there's three main drivers for the profitability. Corporate finance M&A is a big one. Your revenue from memory is in high 200s. A lot of revenue. It can be a fairly lumpy business. I've had personal experience in that, and it's certainly not an annuity stream. I think as you allude to, Brian, your two rainmakers have both got 20 million shares, so I don't think they're going anywhere, and I think they'll be appropriately motivated to drive it forward. But is that a potential You mentioned earlier that your trading profits, understandably, are a bit down year to date. But is the M&A side, which is traditionally lumpy, is that an issue for you, or are you confident it's onwards and upwards? Thank you.
Thank you very much, David, for the question. First of all, I will say we have a very large team. We have a team of nearly 140 bankers. It's equally the biggest team that you'll find here in Australia. And we are strong across a whole array of different areas. It could be debt advisory side, it can be infrastructure. So, when you talk about the two rainmakers, let me say there is a very broad base of rainmakers in this organization. That's been super important that we're not concentrated to any one person or any one sector. As I mentioned in my presentation, the business remains strong. Components move around, and that's the great thing within even the corporate finance business, given you across so many segments or sectors. Plus, as I said, you've got repeat business style like you have with the debt advisory.
Having that right mix means that we feel that we're very well positioned, especially given where the markets have been. ECM will be a bit more challenging, but by the same token, we're doing very well on the advisory side.
I can't resist, David, having known you from the days when we were in that business. It's a great business, despite being lumpy. I just make that point. If there be no other questions, I'd like to thank David for his questions, and I think we'll now move, if we may, to the first resolution. The first resolution concerns the adoption of the company's remuneration report. This report forms part of the Directors' report, and it's contained in the company's annual report. The precise resolution that you're being asked to vote on should now appear on the screen. There it is. I now move to consider resolution one 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 resolution to a vote, I'd like to invite any questions or comments on the remuneration report, and I am going to ask, if I may, our Deputy Chair, Andrew Formica, and John Eales, who's the Chair of our Remuneration Committee, remuneration people committee, to perhaps join Brian so that at least we look we have a whole phalanx of people that can answer your questions. Thank you, Andrew and John, for coming forward. I now open for questions. If you have a card, the blue or yellow card, if you could just hold it up and we'll come and bring a microphone to you.
Can't let it go without any questions if no one else is going to ask him. Look, I note that the seven directors on the Magellan board is going to increase to a net nine, John stepping down. For a company this size, that does seem to me to be a fairly large group of directors. More importantly, Chair, you're highly sophisticated. There's always an interesting debate about who are the KMP of investment companies. I remember I had that debate with Regal, and we all know Phil King is the KMP. But with somewhat contrived advice, they managed to avoid Phil being a KMP. I'd just be interested to know, clearly the directors are each KMPs, because it's an investment company. But will Matt Grounds and Guy Fowler be KMPs in the 2027 year?
I think most people would think that while, as Brian says, there are a lot of rainmakers, Matt and Guy are the ones with the highest profile. They've got 20 million shares each. Majority of people, if you did a pub test, would say they are KMPs. Now, I appreciate one can get lawyers and accountants to say they're not. Allens there in the back line, so they can answer. But Chair, do you think it is appropriate for Matt and Guy to be KMPs? Because it does provide extra background information on the company for FY2027. Thank you.
David, I'll just deal with a few of the things you mentioned. You are right for the size of a company that we are to have presently 10 and moving to nine is a lot of directors. But I want to make it clear, firstly, the directors' fees are well within a normal range. We're not complaining, but that's what they are. The second thing is, I think it's an excellent board. As I said earlier, we've got the mix of skills that we need
at a time when we're merging. I wouldn't be rushing to make the board smaller until we have sorted out all of that. On your more contentious point, I've always valued your comments, and I mean that. Obviously, that's a question for next year. As probably you would if you were standing here, I'm not going to say one way or the other, and I'm certainly not going to ask Allens because they'll double-charge us if I ask them to come down to give an opinion. We understand your point of view. There are others who argue a different way, and we will approach that for the next year. Any other questions? Well, if there are none, John and Andrew have very graciously come forward. But I do want to, again, thank John.
Being Chairman of a remuneration committee when there's a merger on is probably not the best job to have.
Too many friends.
You handled it with the normal aplomb that the excellent business and sports person you are, and we record our thanks. Thank you very much, John.
Thanks very much, David.
Thank you.
All right. Now, if we may, we are going to vote on this. May I put on the screen the proxy voting results for this resolution, which can be seen there. I now exercise my power to direct that the vote on Resolution 1 should be taken, and I direct that it should 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. You may wish to note your vote on this resolution on the card that you have, which will be collected after the last resolution or can be lodged at any time during the meeting.
The next seven items of business deal with the election of myself, Paul Compton, Peeyush Gupta, Fiona Hick, Dr Philip Lowe, and Kelly O'Dwyer, and the re-election of Deborah Page as directors of the company. The directors standing for election or re-election this year have, as I said earlier, prepared a video, and I hope that you looked at it. Some of us thought our performance was good. Others preferred perhaps to redo it. Anyway, it is there. These videos were made available on the company's website, and a link to these videos was included in the notice of meeting. Under the law, separate resolutions will be put for each director's election or re-election. We will start with the election of myself, and if I may, I will ask my deputy chairman to come up and take the directorship, or rather the chairmanship of that part of the meeting. Andrew.
Thank you, David. The board, with David abstaining, unanimously supports David's election. The precise resolution the shareholders will be voting on now appears on the screen. Unless I hear contrary, I will take this resolution as read. I would now like to move to consider Resolution 2 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 of this resolution, please raise your orange or blue card. Okay, thank you. The proxy voting result for this resolution can now be shown on the screen. We will now proceed to voting. As chair for this resolution, I exercise my power to direct that the vote on Resolution 2 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. You may wish to note your vote on this resolution on your card, which will be then collected after the last resolution. Thank you for that. I would now like to hand the chair back to David.
Andrew, thank you. We now come, if we may, to Resolution 3 . This relates to the election of Mr. Paul Compton. The board, with Paul abstaining, unanimously supports Paul's election. The precise resolution that we are voting on will now appear on the screen. Unless I hear to the contrary, I will take the resolution as read. I now move to consider Resolution 3 as contained in the notice of meeting and as it appears on the screen before you. We will now open for any questions on this resolution from the floor. I think, yeah, okay. We will do those things. We are not going to show the proxies. We will wait for any questions that anybody has got. Any questions? Okay. The proxy votes will be shown on the screen. We will now proceed to voting.
As chair, I exercise my power to direct that the vote on Resolution 3 is to be taken by way of a poll. As set out in the notice of meeting, I am going to vote the undirected proxies in favor of this resolution. You may wish to note your vote at this point on your card, and as I said earlier, these can be either collected at the end or indeed voted on through the box during the meeting. We now move, if we may, if everybody has noted it on their card, to resolution four. This relates to the election of Mr. Peeyush Gupta AM. The board, with Peeyush abstaining, unanimously supports Peeyush's election. The precise resolution shareholders will be voted on should now appear on the screen before you. Unless I hear to the contrary, I will take this resolution as we did the others, as read.
I now move to consider Resolution 4 as contained in the notice of meeting as it appears on the screen. If you wish to ask a question, please raise your orange or blue card. Any questions? There being no questions, I thank you, and the proxy voting results for the resolution can be seen on the screen. We will now proceed to voting in the same way as with the others. I exercise my power to direct the vote on this resolution to be taken by poll, and I note that we will be using or exercising all undirected proxies in favor of this resolution. You may wish at this point to note your vote on your card, and again, these can be collected at the end or indeed voted on during the meeting by placing it in the box, which I saw coming around earlier.
Ladies and gentlemen, may we move to Resolution 5. One of the problems of having seven elections is you have got to sit through a lot of resolutions. But anyway. Resolution 5 relates to the election of Ms. Fiona Hick. The board, with Fiona abstaining, unanimously supports Fiona's election. The precise resolution that you will be voting on appears on the screen. I now move to consider this resolution 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 in the same way as previously, please show your orange or blue card and a microphone will appear for you to ask the question. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. The proxy voting results for this resolution can be seen on the screen. We will now proceed to voting.
As chair, I exercise my power to direct that the vote on this Resolution 5 is to be taken by way of a poll. As set out in the notice of meeting, and as I have indicated previously, I will vote all undirected proxies in favor of this resolution. You may wish to note your vote on the resolution on your card, which can be collected either at the end of the meeting or during. Ladies and gentlemen, we come to Resolution 6. This relates to Dr. Philip Lowe. The board, with Philip abstaining, unanimously supports Philip's election. The precise resolution shareholders will be voting on now appears on the screen. Unless I hear to the contrary, I will take this resolution as read. I now move to consider Resolution 6 as contained in our notice of meeting and as it appears on the screen.
We will now open for any questions on this resolution from the floor. As previously mentioned, if you could just wave your orange or blue card, a microphone will come to you. There being no questions, I thank you, and the proxy voting results for this resolution can be seen on the screen. We will now proceed to voting. As chair, I exercise my power to direct that the vote on Resolution 6 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 the resolution. You may wish to note your vote on your card, and as I said earlier, that can be collected at the end or indeed voted on during the meeting. This brings us to Resolution 7, the election of the Honorable Kelly O'Dwyer.
The board, with Kelly abstaining, unanimously supports the election of Kelly. The precise resolution that you are being asked to vote on should appear on the screen, and there it is. I now move to consider Resolution 7 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, please wave your card. David.
Thought I would just give your voice a break, Chair. You are not getting many questions. I think everyone is intimidated by you. Anyway, I have had the pleasure of meeting Kelly. She is an outstanding person, of course, with a very diversified background. I would just be interested, in all seriousness, I have got enormous respect for David Di Pilla. I think he is tenacious, very bright. But Kelly is on three of the boards of that group, and perhaps the market got a little bit overexcited, with HMC Capital, AUD 12, AUD 13 down to in the twos. Just interested, Kelly, are there any lessons? Because I think most people are looking for sustainable long-term growth. I know Mr. Gonski is. But any lessons? As I said, I am an enormous fan of David Di Pilla's.
I think it was the market that got a bit too excited, but it was one of the standout situations with a finance group where people got overexcited, and the reality has been a little bit more subdued. But any outtakes from that, Kelly, that perhaps have any application to the new Barrenjoey, Magellan? Thank you.
Just before Kelly, I would, and I think, David, you have said this yourself, we value Kelly enormously, and obviously she has played her part in helping Barrenjoey get to where it got, and we are very lucky to have her. I should just mention, having been a parliamentarian, it is actually very interesting to see how Kelly's acute and wonderful financial mind has a slightly different way of looking at things to what we do, and we are very lucky to have her. I am trying to give her time to think about how she is going to think. But I would mention, David, as you know, this is a meeting of MFG that might change its name and has nothing whatsoever to do with the company you have asked us to opine on.
I would echo your comments, Chair, and that's the reason for the question, both to give your voice a break, but because Kelly is so eloquent and so intelligent and great emotional intelligence, we're all delighted to hear a few words from Kelly. Thank you.
Well, David, thank you very much for those very complimentary words, and you're very kind in giving me a platform today to discuss a company of which I'm on that is not the company which we're talking about today. Look, I would very politely say to you that there will be an opportunity to discuss those matters that you've raised in the appropriate forum. You'll be very happy to know that I'm standing for re-election at the HMC Capital Board, and I will very delightedly answer your questions in that context. It is a great privilege to be part of the newly merged board here at Magellan, and with the hope to change the name as well to Barrenjoey. I've had the opportunity to serve on the Barrenjoey board. I believe I bring complementary skills to the board.
As David has talked about, I bring obviously a background in law, finance, and government, and I will use those skills to the utmost of my ability. Thank you very much.
All I'd add briefly is a magnificent sidestep, Kelly. Once a politician, always a politician. She has not lost any of her skills. I just clarify, though, I've got enormous respect for HMC, and it's more the lessons to be learnt when the market perhaps gets a bit overexcited. Thank you.
Thank you, David. Can we continue by perhaps putting the proxy voting up there? We will now proceed to voting. I exercise my power to direct that the vote on Resolution 7 is to be taken by way of a poll, and as set out in the notice of meeting, I will vote undirected proxies in favor of this resolution. You may wish at this point to note your vote on your voting card, and they can be collected, the box is now merged, either during the meeting or when we finish the meeting. I now move, if I may, to Resolution 8. This relates to the re-election of Mrs. Deborah Page AM. The board, with Deborah abstaining, unanimously supports the re-election of Deborah. The precise resolution, which is being put to you, our shareholders, and to be voted upon here, should now appear on the screen, which is there.
Unless I hear to the contrary, I will take the resolution as read. I now move to consider Resolution 8 as contained in the notice of meeting and as it appears on the screen. We will now open for any questions, and if you have any questions, please wave the orange or blue card and some sort of microphone will arrive so that you can speak. There being no questions, I thank you. The proxy voting results for this resolution can be seen on the screen. We will now proceed to voting. As chair, as I have done in the other resolutions, I am taking that we should direct that this vote is taken by way of poll, and I will be voting all undirected proxies in favor of this resolution.
You may wish to note your vote on this on your card and put the card in the box on the way out or indeed at the end of the meeting. Ladies and gentlemen, this brings us to the final Resolution 9. This is a special resolution, that means it needs 75% approval and concerns the proposed change of the company name from Magellan Financial Group Limited to Barrenjoey Group Limited. It indeed is an amendment of the company's constitution to reflect that change. The board of directors unanimously recommend that you vote in favor of this Resolution 9. The precise terms of the resolution should be on the screen there, which it is, and unless I hear to the contrary, I will also take this resolution as read.
I now move to consider Resolution 9 as contained in the notice of meeting and as it appears on the screen. We will now open for any questions from the floor. If you wish to make a question or ask a question, please do wave your orange or blue card, and a microphone will come to your aid. Any questions on this resolution? David
Just one aspect of it. Is the intention to phase out the Magellan name from funds management, or do you think in three to five years' time, Magellan will still be a trading name?
Well, I can tell you one thing, we will be keeping the name. There's great value in that name, and we want to keep it. We will be Barrenjoey, we will be BJY, but within our group, there will be Magellan. No other questions? Then may I ask that the proxy voting on this be placed on the screen? Thank you. As chair, I exercise my power that the vote on the Resolution 9 should be taken by way of a poll. As set out in this notice of meeting, I will be voting all undirected proxies in favor of this resolution. You may wish to note on your card, which is now becoming quite crowded, your vote on this particular resolution. Ladies and gentlemen, based on the results of the proxy voting, it is expected that this resolution will be approved.
Subject to the final vote count, the change of name will take effect when ASIC processes the details of the company's registration. This concludes all of our items of business. I'll now pause, if I may, to allow you to do whatever you wish to do with your card. I would ask, if I may, that the box be brought round so that those of you who wish to vote can vote. Once you have voted, I will close the poll and shortly close the meeting. I do want to thank you all for being here, for indeed staying with the company, for listening to us, and we really admire and want your support. I can't resist it, David will kill me for this, but David mentioned mud. I want to thank all of you for not throwing mud on all of us.
We are aware that mud can be thrown, and we appreciate the civility and the wonderful nature of our shareholders. On that basis, my fellow board members and I will be around if you wish to talk about things, hopefully on our company. We would really invite you to join us for tea and coffee outside. I close this meeting, and thank you all for attending, and as soon as we've got all the votes in, I will not be closing the poll till the last votes have gone in. There's a gentleman over there. Thank you. Thanks. All the votes, I think, have been collected. I close the poll, and I leave it to those who have to now count it, and we will announce that later in the day. Thank you very much for attending, and that is the close of the meeting.