Moelis Australia Ltd (ASX: MOE) has certainly been a stand out performer among the ASX newcomers.
The financial services manager, which was admitted to the Official List in early April, has seen its share price go from $3.15 to close on Thursday at $5.93, representing a gain of about 88%.
Moelis Australia, specialising in corporate advisory services and equities and asset management, is aligned with the US listed global investment bank Moelis & Company.
In August Moelis announced a half-year underlying EBITDA of $12 million, an increase of about 200% on the prior corresponding period, prompting a surge in investor enthusiasm.
Shortly after listing, Moelis embarked on a series of acquisitions which appear to be paying off.
In June, Moelis acquired real estate fund manager Armada Funds Management Pty Limited, with assets under management of around $800 million, for about $29.5 million.
Armada averaged total returns to investors of approximately 15% per year over 11 years, according to Moelis.
In July, the Moelis Australia Redcape Hotel Group, a Moelis managed fund, acquired the Redcape Hotel Group, the second-largest gaming operator in NSW, for $677 million.
The portfolio included 25 operating hotels located across New South Wales and Queensland, at the time of the transaction.
In September, Moelis announced it had entered an agreement to pay $45.4 million for a 70% interest in Infinite Care, which has five aged care facilities in South Australia and says it has plans to build two more in Queensland.
And Moelis announced last month that it had acquired a 9.96% interest in Japara Healthcare Limited (ASX: JHC), a major player in the aged care and retirement industries sector.
As well as hotels, gaming and real estate, Moelis also has interests in childcare, agriculture and the tech sector.
Moelis, with a market cap $854 million, has outpaced bigger players in the sector.
The share price of Clearview Wealth Ltd (ASX: CVW), with a market cap of $969 million, has only managed to add 2% to its share price since Moelis listed.
And Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) has added about 12% to its share price over that timeframe.
Moelis might be a new player but it looks to be off to a good start.
