Pinned straw:
Discl: Held IRL
Nice 1QFY2026 update from NWL today.
- Positive momentum across all products & services sums up the quarter.
- First Guardian update is cautious - FY26 guidance now includes a caveat against unexpected First Guardian costs
The commentary in the update is littered with the usual “record-this-and-that” which I find quite confusing as it is mostly against the prior corresponding period 1QFY2025. As NWL expects to grow each quarter, referencing and gloating about the pcp comparison seems quite pointless other than to generate the buoyant headlines. While there is some seasonality, I prefer to focus on the underlying QoQ trend instead.
- Total Funds Under Administration hit $120.8b, increasing $8.0b QoQ, an above trend increase, building on momentum in the previous quarter - up 7.1% QoQ
- The Quarterly Increase in new accounts of 5,146, up 3.2% QoQ, reverted to trend following the sharp spike in the June 2025 Quarter - the accounts growth is now in short-term acceleration mode - very nice
- Total Funds Under Management was $29.5b, up 0.2% QoQ, driven by growth in (1) Managed Accounts, up 32.6% on pcp to $25.7b (2) Managed Funds, up 23.0% on pcp to $3.8b
FUNDS UNDER ADMINISTRATION
- Continued on-trend increase in Total FUA Net Flows of $4.0b, slight exceeding 1QFY25 and improving on 4QFY25
- Continuing to benefit from ongoing transitions from existing financial intermediaries as well as new accounts from new intermediaries
- Non-Custodial FUA hit $1.0b for the very first time - a pricing increase kicked in on 1 Oct 2025
FUNDS UNDER MANAGEMENT
Sharp uptick in FUM Net Flows of $1.8b, up 63.3% QoQ - a (noticeable!) record as it towers over previous quarters FUM Net Flows.
@jcmleng - IRL I hold both NWL and HUB. NWL for 4 yrs, HUB for 3.5 yrs. This from a time I was buying on other people’s recommendations. Obviously both those recces were sound. But like you, I’ve been puzzled by the difference in SP growth between what, on the face of it, are similar companies. And that difference has been pretty much evident throughout the time I’ve held them.
Currently for me (with no additions or subtractions to the holdings since initially bought), NWL sits at a 129% gain, while HUB is at a 298% gain. A substantial difference.
From the most recent Annual Reports, the financial metrics I look at say:
Revenue Growth YoY: NWL 27% HUB 24%
EPS Growth YoY: NWL 39%, HUB 70%
Net cash from operations Growth YoY: NWL 41%; HUB 69%
Net Profit attributed to SHs Growth YoY: NWL 40%; HUB 83%
So from similar revenue growth, HUB’s system throws out more EPS growth, etc. There’s definitely a difference between the companies.
That’s not to say either is a better long-tern investment than the other. More that there’s something “under the hoods” of the businesses that creates a significant difference in the end result which, I assume, underpins the difference in SP growth.