HUB24's AI Scare Ignores a Fiduciary Moat Fund Managers Say Still Holds

Record platform inflows and earnings growth weren't enough to stop a sharp de-rating, but fund managers argue HUB24's regulatory role makes it harder to disrupt than it looks.

7 Oct 2026 · 3 min read

HUB24 fell 31 percent from its October 2025 record high of $118.59 to $82.19 by March 2026, and kept sliding to below $73 by June, despite record platform inflows and strong earnings growth, as the wealth management platform got swept up in the same AI-disruption panic that hit software names broadly.

Record results, punished anyway

ELM Responsible Investments said HUB24 posted double-digit revenue growth, strong operating leverage and record platform inflows, yet share price reactions were sharply negative to any result perceived as less than perfect, particularly among higher-multiple names, without viewing that as evidence of any structural change to the business. DS Capital said both HUB24 and rival Netwealth delivered outstanding half-year results demonstrating continuing structural tailwinds in the platform sector, with strong net fund inflows and earnings growth, even as AI disruption concerns pressured valuations across both.

Not just AI fear: a genuine fiduciary moat

Regal Funds Management said it bought more HUB24 shares for similar reasons to Netwealth, arguing the platform is not just a software solution but carries a genuine fiduciary responsibility, having to meet ASIC and legal obligations rather than simply turning on a piece of software, and viewed the broad sell-down across perceived AI-vulnerable sectors as an opportunity. Maple-Brown Abbott put numbers to the fall, tracking the stock from its record high of $118.59 on 21 October 2025 to $82.19 by 31 March 2026, a 31 percent decline that still left it on 48.6 times earnings, grouping HUB24 among the tech names most impacted by a NASDAQ-linked rout questioning software-as-a-service valuations under AI disruption fears.

It is not just a software solution; they actually have a fiduciary responsibility to play. They have to meet all the ASIC and legal obligations. It's not just turning on a piece of software.

— Regal Funds Management, Article, March 2026

Some trimmed into the weakness, others held for the long-term trend

Flagship Investments trimmed its holding despite robust inflows and growth in funds under administration, and Oracle Advisory Group reduced its position during the quarter. Glennon Small Companies said the stock came under pressure as sentiment toward growth-oriented financial technology names softened in a rising rate environment, with markets reflecting caution over moderating funds under administration growth despite strong underlying platform adoption. QVG Capital took the opposite stance, noting HUB24 was correlated to broader share market weakness despite flat consensus earnings revisions, and continued drawing conviction from business performance rather than sentiment.

Uncertainty in markets means nervous investors and delayed decision making. This phenomenon should prove temporary. Temporary disruptions to long term trends are good buying opportunities.

— QVG Capital, Monthly Report, June 2026

June: still no operational deterioration, just valuation correction

Glennon Small Companies said HUB24 was its largest portfolio detractor in June as shares underwent a substantial valuation correction during a broader period of weakness across technology and higher-multiple growth companies, with no material deterioration in underlying operating performance, following a March-quarter update reporting continued platform growth and product innovation. DS Capital's annual report said HUB24 delivered a 26 percent increase in funds under administration and a 35 percent surge in first-half earnings, holding nearly 10 percent market share and successfully broadening its product suite into adjacent growth segments, despite which its share price still finished the year 20 percent lower.

What fund managers say they are watching next is whether the AI-disruption discount continues to fade as it has for other software names, continued funds under administration growth and market share gains from its current roughly 10 percent base, product suite expansion into adjacent segments, and whether the stock's valuation, now well below its 48.6 times earnings peak, proves the attractive entry point QVG and Regal believe it is.