Is this stock's "knee-jerk" 22% sell-off now an opportunity?

Last week, MA Financial Group (ASX: MAF) reported its results for the 2023 calendar year. Despite the firm's consistent operational performance since listing - and being likened to Macquarie Group, shares in the diversified financial player have fallen around 22% since the result, which saw the group's earnings per share, underlying net profit after tax, revenues and EBITDA all come in under analyst estimates.

However, MA Financial executive director and joint CEO Julian Biggins reasons the business is investing for the future and argues last week's numbers were cycling off from a very good 2022. 

"When I look forward to FY26 and the targets we have put into the market about what we think our business can deliver - today we have $9.2-9.4 billion in AUM, we think we can have $15 billion in AUM by FY26. Every year that goes past we get closer to that [target]. And we also think within Finsure and the MA Money business there is a lot of growth," he says. 

"So, whilst we have obviously had a knee-jerk reaction to our result last week, I think the operating performance has been very consistent over the last three to four years of delivering strong operating growth and investors should be excited and optimistic about the future." 

In this interview, Biggins digests MA Financial's latest result, outlines the firm's growth plans for the future, and shares how its various businesses and funds are expected to perform in today's environment. 

Note: This interview was recorded on Monday 26 February 2024. 

Timecodes

• 0:00 - Intro 
• 0:27 - Key results and operational performance 
• 1:09 - MA Financial is focused on investing for future growth 
• 3:03 - Record inflows - and a boon in private credit 
• 4:01 - The impact of inflation and rising rates on asset values 
• 5:34 - The businesses with the most potential in FY24
• 6:59 - How alternative real estate investments perform at this point of the cycle 
• 7:54 - Corporate deals ramping up in FY24
• 8:54 - Advising Praemium (ASX: PPS) on the acquisition of OneVue from Iress (ASX: IRE)
• 9:23 - Margin guidance - and why investors should remain excited