MA Financial
Level 27, Brookfield Place, 10 Carrington Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Overview
MA Financial Group Limited, formerly Moelis Australia, is an ASX-listed financial services firm specialising in asset management, lending, corporate advisory and equities. Launched in 2009, we have advised on transactions worth over $100 billion and assisted clients to raise $11.5 billion in equity capital markets. Today, we have $6.1 billion in assets under management. Established as a joint venture with NYSE-listed Moelis & Company – a leading global independent investment bank – the firm has grown to become a team of 300+ across Sydney, Melbourne, London, Beijing and Shanghai. Asset Management With $6.1 billion in assets under management, our Asset Management division creates and manages investment opportunities for institutional, wholesale and retail investors in real estate, credit, hospitality private equity and venture capital. Working with state and federal governments, MA Financial Group was a pioneer in the Significant Investor Visa space. Today, we’re one of Australia's largest fund managers for overseas high-net-wealth investors in the program. Lending The Lending division funds high-quality loan portfolios and operates differentiated lending platforms. We invest in loan portfolios, including providing asset-backed funding for non-bank and bank loans in Australia and the United States. Through our lending platforms, we provide a range of legal funding solutions including disbursement funding, refinancing of existing disbursement borrowings, settlement advance funding and family law funding. Our portfolio company, MKM*, offers residential mortgage lending to borrowers in Australia. * In October 2020 MA Financial completed the 47.5% first stage of its acquisition of MKM Capital Pty Ltd (MKM). Corporate Advisory and Equities MA Moelis Australia is the advisory division of MA Financial Group. Our Corporate Advisory and Equities teams provide strategic and financial advice for mergers and acquisitions, equity capital markets, debt capital markets, IPOs, real estate and restructuring and recapitalisations. We're part of a global strategic network of advisory experts, working closely with the global investment bank Moelis & Company, our long-term strategic partner based in New York. Since 2009, our Corporate Advisory division has managed in excess of $100 billion worth of transactions, including: Varde, KKR and Deutsche Bank’s $8.2bn acquisition of GE Capital Australia & New Zealand Consumer Finance Reliance Rail’s $2bn recapitalisation and refinancing Hitachi’s $976m acquisition of Bradken Avoka Group’s US$245m sale to Temenos AG Ten Network’s sale to CBS; and the restructure of Channel 9. Our Equities team provides specialist research, and sales and trading execution services to individual and institutional clients. The Equities Research team manages research on 64 stocks – 38 industrial and 26 real estate.
- Total investments
- 15
- Lead investments
- 3
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 8
Sector focus
- Asset Management
- Banking
- Financial Services
- Hospitality
- Lending
- Venture Capital
Investment portfolio
- Pendula
Participated · Equity · Aug 2023
Pendula is a Sydney, Australia–based provider of customer retention technology that employs advanced analytics and generative AI. The company offers a proactive retention platform enabling two-way communication via SMS, email, instant messenger, fax, and post directly from Salesforce or Zuora. Its software is designed to help companies navigate potential economic downturns by reducing churn and maximising customer lifetime value. In August 2023 Pendula raised A$14.5M in funding led by Octopus Ventures with participation from MA Growth Ventures. The company plans to use the funds to expand global operations, establishing offices in London and Singapore to drive growth in the ASEAN and European markets. Pendula has added new customers including Mate Telecom, Brighte, and Peak Commerce alongside existing clients such as Amaysim, BizCover, and Nobleoak. Its teams are distributed across regions to support international expansion and client deployments. Launched in 2017 and based in Sydney, Pendula provides a digital conversation platform that enables consumers to quickly communicate with businesses via automated SMS and email. The product emphasizes ‘more human’ automated experiences and has driven reported improvements such as 500% increases in conversation rates and 430% stronger engagement versus traditional email. Over the past 12 months Pendula managed more than 20 million conversations and serves customers including amaysim, Cancer Council, TEDx, Ramsay Health Care and Origin Energy. The company plans to scale customer-acquisition channels, broaden integrated ecosystems, and pursue global expansion with particular interest in the USA and Europe. Pendula is backed by early investor Equity Venture Partners and has secured additional institutional support to accelerate growth.
- Quantum Brilliance
Participated · Equity · Feb 2023
Quantum Brilliance develops room-temperature synthetic-diamond quantum hardware, software and emulation tools aimed at edge quantum acceleration. Its 19-inch Quantum Development Kit operates at room temperature, currently contains two qubits, and is designed to integrate with classical systems without cryogenics or vacuum chambers. The company also offers a Software Development Kit and a high-performance Quantum Emulator to help users develop and validate edge quantum applications. Founded in 2019 as an Australian National University spin-off, the business has grown to over 90 people across Australia and Germany and established a Research Hub for Diamond Quantum Materials in Victoria. Future plans described in the article include launching several software products in 2023, conducting hardware field trials, expanding the research hub, and pursuing collaborations such as its pact with Nvidia to build a hybrid quantum-classical platform. The company has invested over $3 million into the research hub (matched by government funding) and recently completed an $18 million fundraise to advance its development and commercialization efforts. Quantum Brilliance develops diamond-based quantum accelerators that do not require near‑absolute‑zero temperatures or complex laser systems, enabling on-site deployment. The company provides a full stack of software and application tools to support its hardware and customer co-development. Spun out of the Australian National University in 2019, it is a venture-backed Australian‑German startup with international partnerships across North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. Quantum Brilliance is actively hiring for about 20 roles to support research, development, engineering, and production. Its roadmap targets lunchbox-sized accelerators with over 50 qubits by 2025 to enable edge deployments in satellites, vehicles, hospitals, and robotic systems. The company announced a seed financing to advance R&D and deployment of its diamond quantum accelerator technology.
- Sonder
Participated · Series B · Sep 2022
Sonder is a workplace wellness technology start-up. The company operates in the workplace wellness sector and is backed by venture investors. It has attracted follow-on funding, most recently banking $16 million in a Series B extension. That extension was led by SEEK Growth Fund alongside existing investors including Blackbird, Saniel Ventures and angel investor Scott Bailey. The round was reported to have come at a big valuation uplift. Scott Bailey was the company’s first angel investor in 2017. Sonder builds a workplace wellbeing platform that integrates safety, medical and mental‑health tools for organisations. The company says it will use new capital to invest in product improvements across those safety, medical and mental‑health areas. Sonder plans to grow its client base among medium and large enterprises in Australia and New Zealand and pursue opportunities within small‑ and medium‑sized businesses. Management also intends to use the funds to support expansion into international markets. The company positions its platform as a way to simplify the healthcare landscape and help organisations support employees' safety and wellbeing. Sonder's co‑founder and CEO Craig Cowdrey framed the raise as a milestone toward unlocking the wellbeing model for millions of people.
- Liquid Instruments
Participated · Series B · Sep 2022
Liquid Instruments develops software-defined test and measurement instrumentation that combines high-performance hardware with intelligent software to enable reconfigurable, customizable measurement solutions. Its platform consolidates multiple traditional instruments into a single system that users can configure and deploy, shortening development timelines from months to minutes according to the company. The company serves thousands of users worldwide, including top technology companies, research institutes, quantum startups, and defense primes. Liquid Instruments announced a $50 million Series C to accelerate product development, scale its AI-powered platform, and expand sales in aerospace, defense, and semiconductor markets. As part of the Series C, Keysight Technologies will also enter a commercial arrangement with Liquid Instruments to jointly advance AI-driven instrumentation. The announcement did not disclose a valuation or detailed prior funding history.
- Spectainer
Participated · Series B · Jul 2022
Spectainer is an industrial technology developer focused on COLLAPSECON, a mass-producible collapsible container solution for shipping and logistics. The company offers a holistic and scalable service aimed at improving operational efficiency and reducing carbon emissions across land and sea. Spectainer says its solution delivers meaningful economic savings and increased productivity compared with earlier collapsible containers. It has offices in Sydney, Australia and Singapore. The business previously established a US $75 million financing facility with Climate Fund Managers (June 2021) and announced a Strategic Partnership with Austal Limited (July 2022). Proceeds from the latest round will support production and commercial operations to establish Spectainer’s first fleet of COLLAPSECON containers.