Macquarie has given its shareholders plenty to cheer about in recent times

Macquarie has given its shareholders plenty to cheer about in recent times. In the three years to June, Macquarie delivered total shareholder returns of over 125%. But taxpayers and Macquarie shareholders are entitled to ask whether Nicholas Moore and his senior executive team are really worth it. After all, Macquarie shareholders would have been better off invested in the broader market over the past seven years. Since its pre-GFC peak in 2007, Macquarie has posted a total shareholder return of close to zero, well below the 10% delivered by the broader market. Shareholders are also entitled to feel let down by some creative and astute lowering of hurdle-rates associated with the company's performance based remuneration. Two important changes made in 2013 were a reduction in the EPS growth target range and a change in the peer group of companies for the ROE hurdle, which excluded the Australian major banks. (VIEW LINK)