☕️360 Probe

Good morning.

Shares in Morgan Stanley slipped over 6% on Thursday, after the Wall Street Journal reported that a slew of regulators are probing how the bank vets clients at risk of money laundering through its wealth management division. The Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and other Treasury Department offices (including FinCEN) are involved, in addition to an ongoing investigation by the Federal Reserve.

Some of the probes are looking into high-net worth and international clients that comprise a significant portion of the wealth management division. Wealth management has proved to be MS’ silver lining as its investment banking income continues to wane.

Looks like James Gorman left new CEO Ted Pick with a full plate for 2024.  

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Shares in Netwealth plunged over 5% during trading yesterday to close at $19.26, despite the financial services group posting funds under administration growth of $6.7 billion for the March quarter. FUA inflows of $5.2 billion for the March quarter were 40.7% higher than the prior corresponding period, with net inflows of $2.7 billion representing a 62.2% rise. Netwealth noted that it expects FUA inflows in the June quarter to be "very strong" with several new large transitions commencing, in addition to higher seasonal flows and increased market activity. 

The quick sync

• Sydney AI software startup, Dovetail, is rolling out a suite of “magic” AI driven features targeting enterprise customers. (Capital Brief)

• Issues with Whyalla’s blast furnace have taken Sanjeev Gupta’s steelworks offline for a month, exacerbating concerns around the plant’s financial stability. (AFR)

• The ECB held rates at a record high of 4.0%, and signalled that it is getting closer to start cuts, despite the US’ road to monetary easing becoming less clear. (Capital Brief)

• Andrew Forrest takes aim at Meta ahead of his US legal battle with the tech giant over scams featuring his image on the platform. (The Australian)

• Vietnamese property tycoon, Truong My Lan, has been sentenced to death in a US$12.5 billion ($19.16 billion) fraud case. (Reuters)

M&A

• QIC has given Barrenjoey the green light to auction a 33% stake in Powerco. (AFR)

• Austal is being courted by Hanwha Group, a South Korean conglomerate. (AFR)

• KKR likely favourite to acquire Perpetual's unit, competing with EQT. (The Australian)

• Incitec Pivot’s $1b fertiliser sale set to be announced within weeks. (AFR)

• EML Payments settles outstanding loan liabilities from PFS acquisition for $28.8m, a 35% reduction. (Capital Brief)

• Matthew Tripp and Betr investors will take control of ASX-listed BlueBet via a confirmed merger between the two wagering groups. (AFR)

• Administrators appointed to Black Hops Brewing are seeking buyers for the embattled company. (BNA)

• Macquarie analysts downgrade Westgold Resources after merger announcement with Karora Resources. (Capital Brief)

Capital Markets

• Kinetic Group finalises a $1.6b refinancing as it seeks out a capital partner. (AFR)

• PYC Therapeutics completes placement to select institutional investors for the $21.1m shortfall of their retail entitlement offer. (ASX announcement)

• NextDC is launching a $1.3b capital raise to fund its data centre pipeline development. (AFR)

VC

• None

People moves

• Origin Energy appoints Tony Lucas as CFO. Lucas had been serving as executive GM of Origin’s future energy and technology division. (Capital Brief)

• OreCorp executives and directors resign post-takeover by Perseus. (Capital Brief)

• Healthcare specialist and portfolio manager Craig Collie has left Regal Funds. (The Australian)

The watercooler