Insignia FUMA up $10bn in Q1, advisers drive MLC Expand growth

Insignia Financial has reported a $10.2 billion increase in funds under management and administration (FUMA) over the quarter, pushing FUMA to $340.5 billion, which chief executive Scott Hartley said was "supported by strong inflows into the Wrap business, continued net inflows into retail multi-asset offerings in Asset Management, and positive equity markets".

In its data for the last three months to 30 September, Insignia said net inflows of $448 million into its asset management division helped FUM in asset management reach $94.6 billion, as well as $1.9 billion added from positive market movement.

Multi-asset saw net inflows of $696 million driven by popularity of MLC’s MultiSeries and Index Plus fund, as well as adviser take-up of MLC’s managed accounts, which received $214 million.

However, it reported the termination of an institutional mandate within the Intermede Global Equities capability, which led to $248 million net outflows from direct capabilities. This was offset by inflows into Antares Fixed Income from an institutional client.

Earlier this week, Morningstar name-checked Insignia as a leading player in Australian active management, with the firm having seen shares rise by 46 per cent over the past year.

“We believe the market underestimated Insignia’s earnings growth potential with cost-out counterbalancing flatlining revenue. There is still ample room to remove duplicate or non-essential costs to extract scale efficiencies. Moreover, we expect revenues to stabilise over the long term rather than decline,” it said.

Total group funds under management and administration increased by $10.2 billion or by 3.1 per cent to $340.5 billion, underpinned by $1 billion in total net inflows and strong equity markets.

Across the group, wrap funds under administration climbed 4.1 per cent to $107.1 billion, while asset management funds rose 2.5 per cent to $94.6 billion.

The wrap segment delivered $1.3 billion in net inflows, led by the MLC Expand platform, which recorded a 300 per cent increase in flows compared to the same quarter last year.

In August, Insignia launched MLC Retirement Boost and the Expand Essential+ investment menu to enhance its retirement and low-cost investment offerings. The firm also relaunched the MLC brand with a national campaign, “A Lifetime in the Making” and rolled out a new direct-to-consumer platform for MLC Super.

Since the end of the quarter, Insignia completed the migration of MLC Wealth custody services from NAB Asset Servicing to BNP Paribas, a move involving 473 investment funds and superannuation portfolios worth $150 billion.

CEO Scott Hartley said these developments support Insignia’s broader transformation program.

“During the quarter, we made significant progress on a number of key deliverables from our 2030 vision and strategy, particularly in our master trust and wrap businesses,” he said.

“The strategic priorities we’ve delivered throughout this quarter position us well for continued, sustainable growth throughout FY26, and bring us closer to our vision to be Australia’s leading and most efficient diversified wealth management company by 2030.”

Hartley added that the Shadforth network had grown by nearly 400 clients on the back of an acquisition, adding more than $700 million in funds under advice.

“Our advice business, Shadforth Financial Group, continued to scale its national footprint with the acquisition of PMD Financial Advisers, a boutique financial advice firm based in Victoria, specialising in high-net-worth clients,” Hartley said.

Insignia continues to progress its proposed scheme of arrangement with CC Capital Partners, with regulatory approvals expected to be finalised ahead of a shareholder vote in the first half of 2026.