Macquarie Group

Macquarie Group Limited is an Australian-listed global financial services group headquartered in Sydney. It provides asset management, retail and business banking, wealth management, advisory, financing and risk-management services across debt, equity, financial markets and commodities. Its predecessor began operating in 1969 as Hill Samuel Australia; the group now operates through four principal business groups and has activities in multiple international markets. ^[1][2][3]

Overview

Macquarie is a diversified financial services group rather than a single-purpose commercial bank. Its activities include managing investments for clients, providing banking and wealth services in Australia, arranging finance, advising businesses and governments, and offering access to financial and commodities markets. The group’s businesses serve individuals, companies, institutional investors and public-sector clients. ^[1][2]

The distinction between Macquarie Group Limited and Macquarie Bank Limited is important. Macquarie Group Limited is the listed parent company and non-operating holding company; Macquarie Bank Limited is a subsidiary and an authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI). The group’s FY2025 annual report described Macquarie Group Limited as regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority in its capacity as the non-operating holding company of Macquarie Bank Limited. ^[3]

Macquarie Group Limited is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange under the ticker MQG. The exchange’s company page provides market and company information for that listing. ^[4]

History

Macquarie traces its origins to Hill Samuel Australia Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the United Kingdom merchant bank Hill Samuel & Co. The Australian firm opened in Sydney on 10 December 1969 with three employees, intending to provide advisory and investment banking services to the Australian market. ^[5]

During its early decades, the business expanded into new financial activities. Macquarie’s corporate history identifies currency hedging in 1978 as an early area of development, followed by the launch of a cash management trust in 1980 and expansion into offshore commodities markets in 1981. These examples illustrate a broader pattern of moving into adjacent products and markets as the business developed. ^[5]

Over time, the organisation expanded beyond its original advisory and investment-banking activities. Its current business mix includes asset management, banking, financial markets and commodities, asset finance, and corporate advisory and capital raising. Macquarie describes the growth of its activities as involving expansion in both products and geography. ^[1][5]

Business groups

Macquarie reports its main operating activities through four groups. Their responsibilities differ, but together they cover a range of financial services and markets. ^[1]

### Macquarie Asset Management

Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) manages investments and provides investment solutions to clients. The group identifies areas including real assets, real estate, credit, equities and multi-asset investments, insurance solutions and secondaries among its activities. Its work can involve investing and managing assets on behalf of clients, alongside the management of investment vehicles and portfolios. ^[1]

Assets under management (AUM) is one measure used to describe this business, but it is not the same as Macquarie Group’s own assets or shareholders’ equity. AUM refers to assets managed or advised for clients under the relevant reporting definition; it should therefore be understood separately from the group’s consolidated balance sheet. Macquarie reported AUM of A$722.1 billion at the end of FY2026. ^[1]

### Banking and Financial Services

Banking and Financial Services (BFS) serves the Australian market with personal banking, business banking and wealth-management products and services. Its client groups include retail customers, financial advisers, brokers and business clients. The group’s banking activity sits within the wider corporate structure described above: Macquarie Bank Limited is the ADI subsidiary, while Macquarie Group Limited is the listed parent. ^[1][3]

BFS is one of the group’s four main operating businesses, alongside asset management, global markets and capital. Its presence connects Macquarie to domestic banking and wealth services while the other operating groups have broader international and institutional-market activities. ^[1]

### Commodities and Global Markets

Commodities and Global Markets (CGM) provides financing, risk-management, market-access, physical execution and logistics services. Macquarie describes the group’s areas of activity as including commodities, financial markets and asset finance. These services can involve both financial transactions and physical commodity activity, depending on the product and client requirement. ^[1]

The group’s predecessor had already entered offshore commodity markets in the early 1980s, according to Macquarie’s corporate history. Today, CGM is one of the group’s principal global operating businesses, with a client base that differs in scope from the Australian retail and business customers served by BFS. ^[1][5]

### Macquarie Capital

Macquarie Capital provides advisory and capital-raising services and offers capital solutions to clients across sectors. The business works with companies, institutions and governments. Its activities complement the group’s market-facing and asset-management operations but are reported as a distinct operating group. ^[1]

Group structure and risk oversight

Macquarie describes its organisational structure as comprising four operating groups supported by central service groups. The operating groups specialise in defined products or markets and have discretion in managing their activities within group-wide guidelines and a risk-management framework. Central functions support areas such as risk, legal matters, governance, finance and people operations. ^[2]

The Risk Management Group is described by Macquarie as an independent, centralised function responsible for review, challenge, oversight, monitoring and reporting on material risks. This group structure distinguishes business ownership of day-to-day activities from central oversight and control functions. ^[2]

As a financial group with banking, market-facing and investment-management activities, Macquarie is subject to multiple forms of regulation across its entities and jurisdictions. In Australia, the FY2025 annual report identifies APRA’s role in regulating Macquarie Group Limited as a non-operating holding company and Macquarie Bank Limited as an ADI. The specific regulatory obligations depend on the entity, activity and jurisdiction involved. ^[3]

Financial reporting and scale

Macquarie’s financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March. Its FY2026 results cover the year ended 31 March 2026. In its FY2026 reporting, the group stated net profit attributable to ordinary equity holders of A$4.847 billion, net operating income of A$19.477 billion and total assets under management of A$722.1 billion. These are reported figures for that financial year, not forecasts. ^[1][6]

The FY2026 report also stated that Macquarie operated in 30 markets and employed 19,124 people globally at the reporting date. These figures describe the group’s reported scale at that time and may change in later reporting periods. ^[1]

Revenue and profit can vary between Macquarie’s business groups and from year to year. Activities that depend on market conditions may experience changes in client demand, transaction volumes, asset values or trading opportunities, while other businesses may derive income from longer-term management or service arrangements. Macquarie’s annual reporting presents group and segment results, allowing readers to examine these different sources of performance. ^[1][6]

Role in Australian finance

Macquarie combines a substantial Australian banking presence with businesses that operate internationally in asset management, capital markets, commodities and advisory services. Its history connects the group to the development of Australia’s financial-services sector, while its current structure makes it a global group rather than solely a domestic bank. ^[1][2][5]

Its position in the Australian financial system is also reflected in the separate roles of the listed parent, the banking subsidiary, the prudential regulator and the securities exchange. The parent company’s ASX listing provides a public market for its shares; APRA’s prudential supervision applies to regulated entities and responsibilities; and Macquarie Bank Limited conducts the group’s authorised deposit-taking activity. ^[3][4]

Macquarie’s breadth means that descriptions of the group as simply an investment bank or simply a retail bank are incomplete. It conducts banking, asset-management, financial-markets, commodity and advisory activities through distinct operating businesses under a common group structure. ^[1][2]