At Macquarie’s most recent results – announced in October and covering the six months to September 30, 2021 – chief executive Shemara Wikramanayake announced not only a 107% year-on-year increase in first half profit to A$2.04 billion ($1.5 billion) but also a A$1.5 billion capital raising.
That capital raising is, in the main, dry powder, with nothing specific earmarked for its deployment. It represents a level of confidence that Macquarie, across its disparate businesses, is going to find good ways to put that money to work.
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Where might that happen? At the half year, all four of Macquarie’s core underlying businesses were not only growing but already spending. Between them they had already deployed A$5.5 billion of capital over the 12 months to September: A$900 million through Macquarie Asset Management, which has bought Waddell & Reed in the US and a portfolio of fixed income business from AMP; A$400 million through banking and financial services on the home loan portfolio; A$2 billion in commodities and global markets, driven by platform growth; and A$1.7