"Company has been caught in a perfect storm of negative media...

"Company has been caught in a perfect storm of negative media coverage,..."

I'll say.

In all of this I am vigilant for signs of permanent damage to any of IOOF's franchises, but to date I can't see much more than some minor peripheral reputational contamination, of the same sort that is being applied to the wealth management industry at large.

And the hysteria of "now-ism" has sucked out all the oxygen from any analysis and/or discussion of what the financial performance of the company will look like over the next two years, as the ANZ wealth business - which is a transformative [*] deal - contributes to earnings growth.

In twelve months time IFL will be reporting underlying EPS growth of the order of magnitude of 20%, and possibly even in approaching 30%, with further double-digit growth on the cards for the following year, as the ANZ Wealth contribution annualises.

I suspect there will be far less wailing and gnashing of teeth when that transpires.


[*] I'm not a great fan of that word, but it is appropriate in this case, I think it is applicable.