That growth to $15.8 billion in FUM for the year accelerated from growth of just 3.8% in the first half and the growth spurt was in line with chief executive Mark Peterson’s guidance.
Similarly, growth in funds under administration (FUA) at the NZX Wealth Technologies platform accelerated to $19.9 billion, up 23.1% for the year after 8.6% growth in the first half after onboarding 13 clients, bringing the total client number to 45.
Wealth Technologies’ annual recurring income was up 22.2%.
However, statutory net profit for calendar 2025 fell 14.2% to $21.5 million, mostly reflecting an unrealised fair value boost in 2024 that wasn’t repeated in 2025.
NZX said net profit was up 20.2% on a like-for-like basis while free cash flow rose 25% to $26.4 million.
NZX made the final payment for the QuayStreet acquisition of $3.2 million out of free cash flow.
Smart has decided that the QuayStreet funds management business will remain as an active manager but it will outsource management to others to avoid the stock exchange operator being a competitor to some of its major customers.
Peterson described QuayStreet as “an active manager within a passive house,” but the decision to continue with active management was based on QuayStreet’s strong performance.
NZX will continue to own the QuayStreet business and provide the administration of customers.
The Smart KiwiSaver schemes are being migrated to the Wealth Technologies platform while other schemes are expected to be migrated in 2027 and 2028.
Peterson said Wealth Technologies’ future client pipeline is strong, although one client will cease the platform in late 2026 because of industry consolidation.
Chief financial officer Graham Law said Wealth Technologies remains NZX’s largest area of capital spending, mostly related to new client migration activity with some ongoing product development.
“Capitalisation levels will remain high whilst there is new client migration activity.”
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