"@madamswer what was your take on the ord business and how it...

"@madamswer what was your take on the ord business and how it fitted strategically? "

It didn't; when IOOF acquired it, it was the private client advisory business that IOOF wanted (in the days when advisory was still a hot and sexy commercial undertaking); the broking business - which is what IOOF is now selling - is a purely transactional agency business, one in which the margins have become wafer-thin.

I actually thought that IOOF would sell it at the time that they were reducing their exposure to the "manufacturing" end of the wealth management supply chain by selling out of some investment management businesses (notably some Perennial boutiques) about 5 years ago.

Besides its thinner margins these days, stockbroking is a notoriously cyclical business, so maybe IOOF were waiting for the cycle to peak before putting it up for sale. But I think the more likely explanation is that it didn't get the love and attention from IFL managed that it needed, and that the Ord Minnet staff and management saw that and decided to make an offer to buy the business.

All in all, I don't think this is an overly material development.

Clear air around the final penalties that IOOF will incur will be the driver of the stock price over the next 6 to 9 months, I feel.