Magellan sheds name, enters new focus as Barrenjoey

Magellan Financial Group will retire its name and rebrand to Barrenjoey Capital Partners, as the newly combined group heightens its focus on investment banking, institutional sales, trading and execution services.

Shareholders at the annual general meeting (AGM) yesterday unanimously voted in favour of changing the company name to Barrenjoey and subsequently listing under the ticker code BJY on the ASX.

"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," Magellan chair David Gonski told the AGM.

The group announced a greater emphasis on growing its corporate finance and financial markets divisions, which collectively earn 70% of total revenue based on pro forma estimates.

"Barrenjoey's standalone performance was strong: revenue of $573 million, up 34%, with growth across all three of its businesses, and operating profit after tax up 68% to $112 million," Magellan chief executive Brian Benari told the meeting.

"Return on equity approached 33% and operating leverage is emerging."

Magellan, which contributes 30% to total revenue, suffered a challenging 2026 financial year. About $246 million of revenue declined by 11%, largely reflecting lower investment management fees, partially offset by stronger partnership income from its investment in Barrenjoey.

As part of a review, Benari said $251 million was redeemed from various Magellan funds is now managed by the group's treasury team, which is investing the money in cash and fixed income.

"This means a modest reduction in investment earnings, but importantly, a meaningful reduction in risk and earnings volatility," he said.

For the September quarter, the investment management unit's total assets declined by 8% to $38 billion, primarily due to higher bond yields impacting listed infrastructure valuations and outflows.

Benari flagged the Magellan will soon launch capabilities in private capital and listed equities to meet a clear client need.

"We're also already seeing tangible benefits with Barrenjoey's origination capability combining with Magellan's distribution reach to bring alternative asset funds to market, and we have new products we will bring to market through the year," he said.

The merger of Magellan and Barrenjoey was finalised in July. As for integrating both entities, Benari said central support functions such as human resources, finance and legal will be substantially integrated by the end of November, well ahead of schedule.

At the AGM, five directors who served on the Barrenjoey board - Paul Compton, Fiona Hick, Philip Lowe, Kelly O'Dwyer and Gonski - joined the group on July 1. They stood for election at the newly merged group for the first time and successfully won seats on the board.