The Australian share market has pulled back from recent highs, with investors navigating a mix of rising interest rates, geopolitical uncertainty, and shifting global growth expectations.
While this type of volatility is not unusual, some sectors have felt the pressure more than others. In particular, non-bank financials have had a challenging period, with several high-quality names seeing meaningful share price declines.
Two examples are Pinnacle Investment Management Group Ltd (ASX: PNI) and Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL). Over the past 12 months, their share prices have fallen more than 27% and 20%, respectively.
For long-term investors, periods like this often spark discussion around contrarian thinking. When sentiment turns negative, it can sometimes push share prices below what the underlying business performance might justify. That doesn't automatically mean value is present — but it can create a reason to look more closely.
So, how are these two businesses actually performing beneath the surface?
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Inflows climbing
Pinnacle operates a multi-affiliate funds management platform. Rather than managing all assets directly, it takes equity stakes in specialist investment boutiques (known as affiliates) and earns a share of their fees and profits.
This model allows Pinnacle to scale across asset classes and geographies while remaining relatively capital-light.
Recent results suggest the underlying business continues to grow, even as performance fees fluctuate. Funds under management (FUM) reached $202.5 billion, up 13%, supported by record net inflows of $17.2 billion for the half.
Importantly, core earnings appear resilient. Pinnacle reported strong growth in its share of affiliate profits (excluding performance fees), with underlying net profit (NPAT) also rising solidly versus the prior period.
The variability comes from performance fees, which declined compared to the previous corresponding period — highlighting the cyclical nature of earnings in funds management.
Strategically, the business continues to expand globally, with increasing exposure to international markets and private assets, alongside new investments such as its stake in Pacific Asset Management.
Improving profitability
Netwealth is a platform provider offering technology, administration, and investment solutions to financial advisers and their clients. It generates revenue primarily from fees linked to funds under administration (FUA) and from transaction and ancillary services.
The structural tailwinds behind the business — including the shift towards platform-based investing and independent advice — remain firmly in place.
Recent results highlight strong operational momentum. Netwealth reported FUA of $125.6 billion, up 23.6% year on year, alongside total income growth of 24.7% to $193.8 million.
Profitability also improved, with operating earnings (EBITDA) rising 23.9% and net profit after tax increasing nearly 20%.
Revenue growth has been broad-based, with platform revenue climbing 25.3%, supported by growth across administration, transaction, and ancillary fees.
The company continues to benefit from strong inflows and adviser growth, with custodial inflows of $16.4 billion for the half and expanding market share in the platform sector.
Management remains focused on investing in technology and product capability, including AI-driven enhancements, to support long-term growth and adviser productivity.
Foolish takeaway
Despite notable share price declines over the past year, both Pinnacle and Netwealth appear to be delivering solid underlying business performance.
Pinnacle's growth continues to be driven by inflows and its scalable affiliate model, while Netwealth is benefiting from structural industry shifts and strong platform growth.
As always, markets can sometimes weigh short-term uncertainty more heavily than longer-term fundamentals. If these companies can continue to grow revenue and earnings over time, a shift in sentiment could eventually see valuations move higher again.
Whether that plays out — and over what timeframe — remains something investors will be watching closely.
