About
On 10 December 1969, Macquarie’s predecessor organisation, Hill Samuel Australia, opened its doors with three staff and an ambition to provide advisory and investment banking services of an international standard to the Australian market.
Today, we are a diverse, global business operating in 34 markets and our breadth of expertise covers asset management, retail and business banking, wealth management, leasing and asset financing, market access, commodity trading, renewables development, specialist advice, access to capital and principal investment.
Since its inception, Macquarie has differentiated itself by focusing on new opportunities, both in product and geography, progressively building expertise in these disciplines and expanding into adjacent areas.
Here are some of the key events that have shaped our evolution into a uniquely diversified business.
Hill Samuel Australia was a pioneer in the development of the foreign currency hedge market in Australia, enabling exporters, importers and foreign currency borrowers to manage their foreign currency risk. It became one of the largest currency hedge dealers in the country.
Macquarie’s predecessor organisation, Hill Samuel Australia Limited, began trading in 1969.
A wholly owned subsidiary of UK merchant bank Hill Samuel & Co Limited, Hill Samuel Australia Limited opened at Sydney's Gold Fields House with three employees.
Hill Samuel Australia was a pioneer in the development of the foreign currency hedge market in Australia, enabling exporters, importers and foreign currency borrowers to manage their foreign currency risk. It became one of the largest currency hedge dealers in the country.
The Hill Samuel Cash Management Trust was the first of its kind in Australia, created to give individuals and small companies access to the relatively high short-term money market rates. Within four months it had attracted $A100 million.
Hill Samuel Australia expanded its operations into overseas commodity markets, offering hedging services in all base metals and most soft commodities traded in London and New York.
Hill Samuel Australia continued to extend the range of its businesses in response to the pace and direction of financial deregulation in Australia, acquiring a part ownership of the stockbroker E L Davis & Co.
Established the structured finance business
Hill Samuel Australia created a new business with the addition of a financial packaging arm. It would grow to become Australia’s largest structured finance division and one of the largest in the world.
With continued deregulation of the Australian financial services sector, Hill Samuel Australia sought a licence as an Australian bank. The formal banking authority was signed February 1985 and Macquarie Bank Limited opened for business the following morning, with a net worth of $A50 million.
At the same time, it adopted the name ‘Macquarie’ after one of the early governors of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie, who pioneered the financial services industry in Australia. The Holey Dollar – the punched Spanish coin Lachlan Macquarie introduced in 1814 to solve a currency shortage – inspired the new Macquarie logo.
Launched a foreign exchange trading service
Macquarie moved to offer corporate clients the ability to trade foreign exchange 24 hours a day. By the 1990s, it was still the only foreign exchange operation in Australia to provide round-the-clock Australian dollar pricing on spot, forwards and options.
Established the Macquarie Group Foundation
Macquarie’s philanthropic arm was founded to formalise the Group’s contribution to the community and elevate its support for non-profit organisations. Then-Chairman David Clarke AO (1942–2011) held the belief that companies have an obligation to contribute to the communities in which they operate, that goes beyond the economic contribution. Commenting at the time, Clarke said, “As a company is a member of the society in which it operates, it follows that one of its important duties is to work in a multitude of ways for the betterment of society…”
Since then, the Macquarie Group Foundation has been empowering our people to build a better future by encouraging them to use their time, skills and financial support for the causes that matter to them. It also partners with colleagues in Macquarie’s businesses to integrate a shared value approach into existing business models to help identify projects that can deliver increased social value and enhanced commercial outcomes.
Hill Samuel Australia adopted the name ‘Macquarie’ in 1985, after one of the early governors of New South Wales, along with a new logo inspired by the Holey Dollar currency used in Australia between 1812-1822.
The Macquarie Group Foundation, Macquarie’s philanthropic arm, was founded in 1985 by then-Chairman David Clarke AO (1942–2011).
From its inception, the Macquarie Group Collection has focused on supporting emerging Australian artists and featuring their interpretations of the landscape under the collection title The Land and its Psyche.
“We wanted the artworks to reflect and reinforce the image of Macquarie: excellent, thoughtful, contemporary and cutting edge, yet approachable,” said former Managing Director Tony Berg.
Launched Macquarie Equities Limited
In June 1987, Macquarie bought the remaining capital of its stockbroking associate and renamed it Macquarie Equities Limited.
Launched the Macquarie Property Trust
The Macquarie Property Trust was listed in October 1987, raising $A80 million from institutional and individual investors to develop a portfolio of major property investments.
In November 1988, Macquarie announced its intention to buy merchant bank Chemical Australia International, a business focused primarily on foreign exchange and interest rate swap products.
In November 1989, Macquarie Equities opened offices in London and Munich when it bought the broking operations of Kleinwort Hattersley Securities in those two cities. The London office at first dealt in Australian equities, later adding project and structured finance, foreign exchange and metals trading.
Macquarie agreed to purchase Boston Australia Limited, the merchant bank subsidiary of The First National Bank of Boston, acquiring corporate and property lending assets.
The PUMA mortgage securitisation business began accepting mortgages in March 1992 and quickly achieved a growing position in this market.
Acquired Security Pacific (Australia)
In December 1992, Macquarie acquired Security Pacific Australia Limited, formerly one of the largest merchant banks in Australia, from Bank of America.
Macquarie’s mortgage securitisation business began accepting applications in 1992.
Macquarie established a Private Client Investment business to make its institutional stockbroking and research services available at a retail level.
Macquarie Private Banking was launched, offering select private clients a single access point to Macquarie’s entire range of products and services, and Macquarie Residential Mortgages was established to widen the Bank’s range of mortgage lending services.
Macquarie arranged the financing for the construction of the $A500 million 20-kilometre M2 Motorway in Sydney, achieving a world first – the successful placement of $A155 million in publicly listed equity for the motorway. The Hills Motorway Trust was one of the first single asset property vehicles listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in December 1994, and the deal was the start of Macquarie’s infrastructure investment business, which is now part of Macquarie Capital.
Macquarie opened a New York office, focused on selling Australian stocks to US investors and increasing other services to North American clients.
An office was also opened in Hong Kong to export Macquarie's expertise in derivatives trading to the newly opening options market on Hong Kong's stock exchange.
In 1994, Macquarie arranged the financing for the construction of the M2 Motorway in Sydney.
In July 1996, Macquarie Bank listed its fully paid ordinary shares on the Australian Securities Exchange and in October 1996 entered the All Ordinaries Index with a market capitalisation of approximately $A1.3 billion.
Macquarie established the position of Integrity Officer in 1998 to act as an independent point of contact for staff on integrity issues and work to ensure that all Macquarie business is conducted in accordance with sound ethical practices.
Macquarie acquired the Australian assets of Bankers Trust for around $A100 million, adding more than 450 staff. The acquisition developed a number of businesses, including the formation of the Agricultural Commodities Division and the transformation of the debt markets from a niche operation to one with broad debt capabilities.
Macquarie established a presence in Japan in 2000 with the opening of a new office in Tokyo.
In January 2001, Macquarie established the Global Infrastructure Fund to invest in infrastructure financing opportunities in the US, Canada, UK and the European Union. Its first acquisitions were the US Detroit-Windsor Tunnel Company, an equity investment in Nextgen and a significant interest in Reef Networks, a fibre optic cable between Brisbane and Cairns.
Macquarie Korea Infrastructure Fund was established in December 2002 to invest in companies that construct, operate and manage infrastructure projects in Korea.
Macquarie opened an office in Houston in the US to focus on mezzanine finance opportunities in the oil and gas sector.
Macquarie launched an energy trading business in London, focusing on providing risk management solutions to oil industry participants globally.
Macquarie completed the acquisition of ING's Asian equities businesses in July 2004, significantly strengthening its equities distribution capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region and giving it a footprint in 10 countries in the region.
The Global Infrastructure Fund II was established in 2003 as an Australian unlisted closed-end fund focusing on smaller investments in infrastructure assets in OECD countries.
In December 2003, Macquarie and Novera Energy Limited entered a joint venture to own and operate renewable energy assets, initially in the UK.
In November 2005, Macquarie acquired Macquarie Cook Energy, a Los Angeles-based energy marketing and trading company providing physical natural gas trading, transportation and storage services to North American natural gas producers, utilities, wholesalers and industrial end-users. The acquisition enabled Macquarie’s first physical natural gas trade in the US.
In September 2006, Macquarie acquired the Corona Energy physical gas marketing and supply business.
In November 2007, Macquarie Group Limited’s establishment as a Non-Operating Holding Company was completed. The restructure was initiated to enable Macquarie to continue its strategies for growth, giving it greater flexibility to adapt to future business, market and regulatory changes.
In May 2007, Macquarie established a start-up business in the UK, providing business lending services to the UK insurance broking industry.
Acquired CIT Systems Leasing (US)
In December 2007, Macquarie completed the acquisition of CIT Systems Leasing, one of the largest independent lessors of technology equipment in North America with approximately $US750 million of leased assets.
Allan Moss retires, and Nicholas Moore becomes Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
In May 2008, Allan Moss retired after more than 30 years with Macquarie and its predecessors, including 15 years as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. Under Allan’s leadership, Macquarie grew from an almost entirely domestic business to one earning a majority of its income outside Australia. Staff numbers grew almost 10-fold and profits grew over 30-fold during Allan’s term as CEO.
Allan was succeeded by Nicholas Moore, then Head of Macquarie Capital.
In March 2009, Macquarie completed the acquisition of Constellation Energy's North American natural gas trading operations, positioning Macquarie as a leading participant in the North American wholesale natural gas market.
Macquarie acquired Constellation Energy's downstream natural gas trading operations in 2009, becoming a leading participant in the North American wholesale natural gas market.
In September 2009, Macquarie completed the acquisition of energy advisory firm Tristone Global Capital.
Acquired Delaware Investments (US)
The acquisition of US-based diversified asset manager Delaware Investments, completed in January 2010, enhanced the product development and distribution capabilities of Macquarie’s funds management platform.
Aircraft leasing business launched
In April 2010, Macquarie announced it would acquire an aircraft operating lease portfolio from International Lease Finance Corporation for $US1.6 billion. The portfolio consisted of 47 modern aircraft on lease to 35 airlines in 27 countries.
In August 2011, Macquarie Bank Limited (MBL) was granted a banking licence by The Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
In October 2011, Macquarie tripled its meters portfolio in the UK to more than 5.7 million meters, through the acquisition of the Utility Metering Services (OnStream) business.
Macquarie acquired Lloyd’s Banking Group’s European rolling stock leasing business in January 2013, adding to a rolling stock leasing business serving the North American market.
Rotocraft leasing business launched
Macquarie Rotorcraft Leasing was established in July 2013, a full-service helicopter operating leasing business focused mainly on the offshore oil and gas industries.
Macquarie launched the Macquarie Infrastructure Debt fund in March 2014, the first to have an explicit focus on investing in UK inflation-linked infrastructure debt for UK pension funds, targeting investor commitments of £500 million.
In March 2015, Macquarie entered an agreement to acquire an aircraft operating lease portfolio from AWAS Aviation Capital Limited valued at approximately $US4 billion and comprising 90 modern, current generation commercial passenger aircraft.
The Macquarie Infrastructure Debt fund launched in 2014 with an explicit focus on investing in infrastructure debt for UK pension funds.
A Macquarie-led consortium acquired the UK Green Investment Bank PLC – one of the leading investors in green infrastructure in the UK and Europe – from the UK Government in August 2017 for £2.3 billion. It was rebranded as Green Investment Group, with one of Europe’s largest teams of green energy investment specialists.
Acquired Cargill Petroleum and Cargill North America Power and Gas businesses
During 2017, Macquarie acquired Cargill’s Petroleum and North America power and gas trading businesses in separate transactions, expanding the geographic and service coverage in key markets.
In September 2018, Macquarie announced it had entered into binding agreements with the NSW Government to design and deliver a new integrated railway station development in the central business district location of Martin Place where its headquarters had been since 1999.
Nicholas Moore retires and Shemara Wikramanayake becomes Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
In November 2018, Nicholas Moore retired after more than 32 years with Macquarie, including 10 years as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. He was succeeded by Shemara Wikramanayake, Head of Macquarie Asset Management.
Nicholas Moore retired as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in 2018 and was succeeded by Shemara Wikramanayake.
In September 2018, Macquarie announced the Macquarie 50th Anniversary Award, a $A50 million philanthropic commitment, in recognition of the organisation’s commitment to driving social change at the local community level since its inception in 1969. Five winners were selected from close to 1,000 applications received globally. Each received $A10 million over five years to deliver projects that seek to initiate or build on a bold idea that addresses an area of social need.
S&P upgrade
In December 2020, S&P Global Ratings upgrades Macquarie Group and Macquarie Bank ratings, after 28 years, to:
- Macquarie Bank Limited: A+ long term (from A) / A-1 short term (affirmed)
- Macquarie Group Limited: BBB+ long term (from BBB) / A-2 short term (affirmed)
Macquarie Group allocated $A20 million to the Macquarie Group Foundation to support non-profit organisations working to combat COVID-19 and provide relief to affected communities.
New Purpose statement launched
In 2020, Macquarie launched a revised Purpose statement, ‘Empowering people to innovate and invest for a better future’, enabled by three long-held principles that explain how we do business – Opportunity, Accountability and Integrity.
In December 2021, Macquarie Asset Management entered into an agreement to acquire Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. The acquisition was completed in April 2021.
Net Zero commitment
In May 2021, Macquarie announced its commitment to reaching net zero operational emissions by 2025 and aligning its financing activity with the global goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
Macquarie’s revised Purpose statement, ‘Empowering people to innovate and invest for a better future’, was launched in 2020.
In March 2022, Macquarie Asset Management acquired AMP Capital’s Global Equities and Fixed Income business, which saw the transfer of ~$A47 billion of assets under management from AMP to Macquarie Asset Management.1
1 Estimate based on 31 December 2021 values.
In September 2024, Macquarie officially opened its new global headquarters at 1 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, bringing together teams previously based across four offices in the city in one campus for the first time in more than 25 years. 1 Elizabeth is part of the integrated Sydney Metro Martin Place precinct delivered by Macquarie and its partners and encapsulates the revitalisation of the Martin Place civic, cultural and financial district.
Macquarie’s new Americas headquarters opens in New York
Macquarie’s new Americas headquarters at 660 Fifth Avenue in New York opened, representing more than 30 years of growth and innovation in the region.
Macquarie officially opened its new global headquarters in 2024 as part of the integrated Sydney Metro Martin Place precinct delivered by Macquarie and its partners.
