Wealth

Insights on wealth management, investments, and personal finance.

Wealth
Deutsche Bank profits surge to highest since 2007
Deutsche Bank reported its highest second quarter profits in nearly two decades last quarter, recovering from the legal settlements that damaged its earnings one year ago. Profit attributable to shareholders was €1.49 billion, up from the €143 million loss seen one year ago following legal settlements from Deutsche Bank’s purchase of Postbank. Net revenue was €7.80 billion, rising 2.8% year-over-year and besting LSEG estimates of €7.76 billion. “Despite a more challenging environment in the quarter, Deutsche Bank again delivered a post-tax RoTE of above 10%, demonstrating the strengths of our underlying business model. We are very happy to have delivered our highest second-quarter and first-half year profits since 2007,” said Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing. “This puts us on track to meet our 2025 targets, and we are positioning our Global Hausbank to grow further, including further raising capital distributions to shareholders beyond 2025.” Diluted earnings per share were €0.48 last quarter, compared with the €0.28 loss in 2024’s second quarter. Profit before tax grew by 34% year-over-year, excluding the Postbank settlement’s impact, and reached €2.4 billion. Profit before tax grew across all of Deutsche Bank’s
Wealth
Opportunities in overvalued market, says Morningstar
The Australian sharemarket offers plenty of attractive investment opportunities despite being overvalued, according to investment research firm Morningstar. Senior Equity Analyst Adrian Atkins said the market was about 6% overvalued following the sharp rally since April. However, it had been significantly more overvalued for much of the past decade. “So current valuations are not a huge concern for us and most importantly, we do continue to see plenty of attractive opportunities across most sectors,” he said on Moringstar's Australian Equity Market Outlook webinar. Atkins said one-third of stocks under coverage by Morningstar in Australia had four or five star ratings and a third of those had moats, or sustainable competitive advantages. Many of the quality stocks trading at attractive prices were in the healthcare and consumer sectors, energy remained the most underrated sector, basic materials and consumer sectors offered good value but little value was seen in financials or utilities. The firm’s top picks include:Telecommunications: Spark New Zealand (ASX: SPK) Media: Nine Entertainment (ASX: NEC) Consumer: Endeavour Group (ASX: EDV), and Energy: Woodside Energy (ASX: WDS)Equity Market Strategist Lochlan Hallo
Wealth
Macquarie shares sink on profit update
Shares in Macquarie Group dived 5% after the financial services group revealed net profit had fallen in the first quarter of the 2026 financial year. The company did not specify the profit but attributed the result to improved performance in Banking and Financial Services (BFS) and Macquarie Capital (MacCap) which was more than offset by lower contributions from Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) and Commodities and Global Markets (CGM). The update was provided by Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Shemara Wikramanayake in an ASX announcement ahead of the 2025 Annual General Meeting in Sydney. BFS’ net profit contribution was driven by volume growth in the loan portfolio and deposits, partially offset by margin compression due to lending and deposit competition and changes in portfolio mix. CGM’s contribution fell due to a reduced contribution from Commodities which recorded lower net interest and trading income in North American Gas and Power, which was partially offset by increased client activity across Financial Markets and Asset Finance. MacCap’s contribution was driven by higher income from the private credit portfolio primarily due to volume growth, and increased fee and commission income. M
Wealth
Post office break-in affects Mercer Super members
Mercer Super, one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds, has warned its one million members that their details may have been stolen during a break-in at a post office. The $74 billion fund managed by Marsh & McLennan’s (NYSE: MMC) global consulting subsidiary Mercer said Australia Post experienced a security breach at the Melbourne general post office (GPO). This could potentially affect a large number of box owners including Mercer Super and Virgin Money Super but it was not known how many members would be impacted. “It’s possible that letters containing members’ personal or financial information were stolen,” Mercer said in a message on its website. “At this point we believe that this incident has not impacted members’ accounts.” Members were told that if they had sent Mercer Super mail from 1 to 17 July 2025 and had not seen a transaction appear on their account or received a response within the expected timeframe they should call: 1800 682 525 – Mercer Super Monday-Friday, 8am-7pm (AEST/AEDT) 1300 652 770 – Virgin Money Super, Monday-Friday, 8am-6pm (AEST/AEDT) “We will help confirm whether we received your correspondence and advise on next steps,” the fund said. Mercer said Australia Post had
Wealth
Merricks Capital Fund gives PC investors liquidity lesson
There’s lots to like about Australia's fast growing private credit – aka non-bank lender - market, especially the commercial real estate (CRE) sub-sector which accounts for the lion’s share of the Australian market. There are covenants requiring minimum performance and maintenance standards, whilst borrowers pay monthly interest, which should ensure minimum future cash flows are maintained. As a result, yields can be attractive given that they should incorporate what’s called the illiquidity premium. This is simply a fancy way of describing the additional return investors require for holding assets that are not easily tradeable or sold on the market. Trouble is when there’s plenty of liquidity, the illiquidity premium often declines as investors reach for yield. However, as investors in the Regal Partners-backed Merricks Capital Partners Fund recently discovered, letting liquidity take a backseat can come back to bite you.No redemption for nowInvestors in Merrick's $1.2 billion flagship fund were recently advised that redemptions would be delayed because there was no ‘unallocated cash’ to distribute to them. Instead, investors who want to redeem funds will be offered a new class of unit and aren’t forced to back any

Wealth
Capital One posts net loss after Discover purchase
Capital One reported a net loss last quarter following its acquisition of Discover Financial, but beat estimates on adjusted metrics. The company’s net loss was US$4.3 billion, down from net income of $597 million one year ago. Adjusted earnings per share were $5.48, above Zacks estimates of $3.83. “We completed our acquisition of Discover on 18 May. We’re fully mobiliszed and hard at work on integration which is going well,” said Capital One CEO Richard D. Fairbank. “We’re as excited as ever by the expanding set of opportunities to grow and create value as a combined company.” Capital One’s total net revenue last quarter was US$12.49 billion, rising by 31% year-over-year and surpassing estimates of $12.22 billion. Its non-interest expenses grew by 26% year-over-year to US$6.99 billion, with operating expenses up by 45% and marketing expenses up by 26%. The company’s provision for credit losses was US$11.43 billion, increasing 192% from 2024’s second quarter. Capital One said in 2024 that it would purchase Discover Financial for US$35.3 billion, and the deal was approved by regulators in April. The acquisition has made Capital One the largest credit card issuer in the United States, as Discover was previously the
Wealth
SUPER NATION: Retail funds turn performance tables
Super Nation is a fortnightly column that examines, explains and analyses key issues in one of Australia's largest, fastest-growing and most important industries: superannuation. It may not quite be a revolution but the performance narrative should be starting to change in the superannuation industry. Once it was taken as read that large profit-to-member super funds delivered higher returns with lower fees, leaving retail and smaller funds in their wake. It was a perception backed by facts from independent sources like the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Industry funds leveraged this with the high-profile Compare the Pair campaign launched by Industry Super Australia in 2005 showing how much better off their members were in retirement than account holders in shareholder-owned retail funds. Not helping the reputations of for-profit funds, those whose trustees are owned by publicly-listed or private companies, was that some were hauled over the coals in the Banking Royal Commission, none more so than AMP (ASX:AMP), a pioneer in the world of retirement products and employer-sponsored super before it was mandatory. But it was not alone with Commonwealth Bank of
Wealth
Unanimous: Insignia accepts $3.3bn bid from last suitor
An eight-month contest for Insignia Financial is close to being concluded with the financial services company accepting a takeover bid from New York-based private equity firm CC Capital Partners that values it at A$3.3 billion (US$2.2 billion). Insignia said its Board recommended that shareholders approve the $4.80 per share offer from the only bidder remaining after investment giants Bain Capital and Brookfield dropped out of the running. The company said the consideration under the scheme of arrangement represented a 56.9% premium to its undisturbed closing share price of $3.06 on 11 December 2024, the last trading day before Bain lodged a non-binding indicative proposal. Chairman Allan Griffiths said the recommendation followed extensive work by the Board and its advisers to understand the medium-to-long term value of the company, which provides financial advice, superannuation, wrap platforms and asset management services to members, financial advisers and employers. “This offer recognises the underlying value of the Insignia Financial business, our associated brands including MLC, and our vision to become Australia's leading and most efficient wealth management company by 2030," Chief Executive Officer Scott Hartl
Wealth
Making sense of Australian Real Estate Investment Trusts
With inflation [seemingly] under control, and the likelihood of at least another two Reserve Bank (RBA) rate cuts this year - taking the cash rate to 3.35% by the end of 2025 – ASX-listed real estate trusts (A-REITs) look well positioned to benefit. After all, a fall in both debt costs and the risk-free rate should positively impact the valuations of A-REIT’s asset values. With that in mind, Azzet provides investors with a two-part feature on the A-REITs sector. While part one provides a timely overview of the sector and some insights into how it works, part two will drill down into individual stocks.Part one: What are A-REITsA-REITs are investment vehicles that let you buy an interest in a diversified and professionally managed portfolio of real estate assets listed on the ASX. Two key benefits of buying into A-REITs is that they give you A) access to high-grade domestic and offshore real estate without requiring you to invest large amounts of capital and B) the ability to enter or exit any time you want (aka great liquidity). In broad terms, there are two types of A-REITs: those that are externally managed (aka passive) and those that are stapled (aka active). While there are certain tax benefits that come from