AMP led the week after lifting its profit outlook, while IAM jumped on record turnover and L1 Group slid despite strong funds growth. Across the sector, investors rewarded cash returns, deal progress and fresh guidance, but they were less forgiving where outflows or one-off costs stayed in view.
- AMP topped the board after raising its first-half profit forecast.
- IAM rose strongly as record trading volumes and settled legal issues improved confidence.
- L1 Group fell even with higher funds under management, as investors weighed outflows and extra costs.
- Dividend stocks such as WAM Active, Cadence Capital and Cadence Opportunities Fund stayed in favour.
- M&A and funding news kept Perpetual, Count and Steadfast in play.
AMP Limited (ASX:AMP) led this week's finance names with a 21.32% gain after it raised its first-half 2026 profit forecast to $170 million to $180 million. Investors cared because the company pointed to stronger earnings from its China partnerships and extra income from carried interest, which is a share of profits from past asset sales. Income Asset Management Group (ASX:IAM) followed with a 11.11% rise after posting record quarterly turnover of $2.12 billion and clearing old fraud and court matters. At the other end, L1 Group (ASX:L1G) fell 9.76%. That drop came even as funds under management rose to $19.1 billion, because investors also had to absorb net outflows from platinum strategies and one-off costs of up to $36 million.
Funds platforms kept growing
Netwealth Group (ASX:NWL) delivered one of the clearest operating updates of the week. Funds on its platform rose 20.3% to $135.7 billion and net flows, which means money coming in after money going out, reached $15.4 billion for the year. The stock still slipped 1.59% for the week. That suggests investors wanted even more after a long run of strong growth, or simply took profits after a solid year. Australian Ethical (ASX:AEF) had the cleaner share price response, climbing 5.33% as funds under management hit a record $14.5 billion and super inflows stayed firm. Navigator Global Investments (ASX:NGI) also reported growth, with ownership-adjusted assets under management up 6% to US$33.6 billion. Yet the shares fell 3.67%. Investors may have focused on what comes next: integrating 17 acquired alternative managers is a big task, and private markets were softer in the quarter. GQG Partners (ASX:GQG) faced a similar problem. Its funds under management fell to US$156 billion after US$15.1 billion of net outflows in the first half. The stock ended down 3.13%, although early weakness partly reversed later in the week.Cash returns kept attracting buyers
Several listed investment groups won support by offering more cash to shareholders. WAM Active (ASX:WAA) jumped 8.26% after reporting a 75.5% portfolio gain for FY2026 and lifting its fully franked dividend, including a special payment. Fully franked means the company has already paid tax on that profit, so eligible investors can use the attached tax credits. Cadence Capital (ASX:CDM) rose 3.33% after declaring a 3.0 cent final dividend and a 1.0 cent special dividend. Cadence Opportunities Fund (ASX:CDO) added 5.58% on its own final and special dividends after a 30.3% annual return. WCM Global Growth (ASX:WQG) slipped 1.47% despite a strong June quarter and a schedule of future dividends. In that case, the update was good, but not enough to spark sustained buying.Deals and funding stayed on the agenda
Perpetual (ASX:PPT) remained busy after EQT lifted its indicative offer to $22.07 a share, then saw the board reject it as too low and too conditional. The stock moved only 0.36%, which tells you the market is not treating a deal as certain. The bidder still wants several things to happen first, including the sale of Perpetual's Wealth Management arm. Count Limited (ASX:CUP) inched down 1.42% even after clearing an Australian competition hurdle and locking in a $116.6 million debt facility for its Oracle acquisition. Investors usually like deal certainty, but debt funding can also bring caution because borrowed money must be repaid. Steadfast Group (ASX:SDF) rose 1.93% after KKR joined the bidding consortium without changing the $6 a share proposal or the timetable.Lending and asset volumes were solid
Australian Finance Group (ASX:AFG) reported record home loan lodgements of $28.1 billion for the June quarter, helped by strong Western Australian activity. Even so, the shares fell 3.01%. A likely reason is that the housing finance market is still mixed across the country, so investors may want to see if this strength can last. FleetPartners Group (ASX:FPR) also slipped 2.68% after upgrading its full-year net book wins growth guidance. Here, the drag was a temporary drop in end-of-lease income, which is money made when vehicles are sold at lease end. Elsewhere, some smaller names showed how fragile sentiment can be. ECP Emerging Growth (ASX:ECP) gained 3.57% after a 6.1% quarterly return, but the move stalled after reopening. TZ Limited (ASX:TZL) rose 3.57% despite a weak entitlement offer result, where most of the new shares were left untaken. Investors will now watch whether the company can place that shortfall. Excelsior Capital (ASX:ECL) climbed 4.49% as it proposed a 94.6 cent per share capital return ahead of delisting, while Ironbark Balanced Income (ASX:IBC) was steady after launching a buy-back for up to 10% of its shares.Bottom Line?
The next stretch will turn on whether companies can convert headline updates into completed actions: Perpetual's bid response, Count's Oracle completion, Excelsior's shareholder vote on 17 August, and the late-August delisting timetable all give investors near-term dates to watch.
Questions in the middle?
- Will AMP's stronger first-half profit guide lead to a broader upgrade cycle, or was this boost mostly a one-off from carried interest?
- Can Netwealth, Australian Ethical and Navigator keep pulling in new money if markets stay choppy through the new financial year?
- Will Perpetual attract a firmer offer, or has the board's rejection effectively capped takeover hopes for now?