Steadfast Group Limited (1S6.F) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Welcome, and thank you for joining us in person today. As the time is 10:00 a.m., we will now start the live broadcast for our online attendees. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of the Steadfast Group Board, I'm pleased to welcome you to the Steadfast 2025 Hybrid Annual General Meeting. As I am in Sydney, I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation and pay my respects to their elders past and present. If we experience any technical issues today, a short recess or an adjournment may be required depending on the number of shareholders being affected. If this occurs, I will advise you accordingly. As a quorum is present, I declare the meeting open. All of your nonexecutive directors are present today: Vicki Allen, Andrew Bloore, Joan Cleary, Michael Goodwin, Gai McGrath and Greg Rynenberg. Our Chief Legal Officer, Duncan Ramsay; our Company Secretary, Alexandra Rose; and a number of our senior executive team are also here, including Tim Mathieson, who I'll talk to about in a moment. Also attending the meeting is David Kells, Relationship Partner of KPMG, our auditor for the FY '25 year. David is available to answer any questions you may have about the conduct of the audit and Steadfast financial statements and the auditor's opinion. The meeting will proceed as follows: I will provide an address about the company's performance, strategy and outlook. I will then ask our incoming Chair, Vicki Allen, to say a few words. I will then deal with the items of business in order in which they appear in the AGM notice of meeting. Shareholders will be given the opportunity to ask questions in relation to items of business being considered at this meeting. On behalf of my fellow Board of Directors, I am pleased to report another record underlying net profit after tax for the year ended 30th of June 2025, making it the 12th consecutive increase in profit since our listing in 2013. The group delivered a 17.2% increase in underlying net PAT, that's net profit after tax, to $229.5 million (sic) [ $295.5 million ] and underlying shares -- and underlying earnings per share increased by 14.2% to $0.267 per share in the year ended 30th of June 2025. Statutory net profit, which includes nontrading gains and losses increased from $228 million to $334.9 million. Our strong record in all key earnings metrics since listing clearly demonstrates the success of our business model. Steadfast Group remains committed to strong and effective corporate governance. Steadfast continues to adhere to the corporate governance principles as set out by the ASX Corporate Governance Council. The details of our governance and risk management frameworks are available on our investor website. In this connection, shareholders will be aware of our announcement late yesterday that the Managing Director and CEO has chosen to step aside until such time as an external investigation is completed into a complaint made by an employee. I really would appreciate your -- the shareholders' patience in allowing the Board to undertake a thorough process in the interest of ensuring procedural fairness. The Board has appointed Tim Mathieson as acting CEO. Tim joined Steadfast in 2015 and was promoted to CEO of Australasian Broking in July '25. I'll get Tim to say a few words before we get into the full detail of the meeting so that you can get a feel for what sort of person he is. I think he's great. The Board declared a fully franked final dividend of $0.117 per share, up 14% from the final dividend last year. This takes the total dividend for FY '25 to $0.195 fully franked, up 13% on FY '24. The final dividend was paid on 26th of September 2025. Steadfast has delivered 25 consecutive increases in interim and year-end fully franked dividends since listing in August 2013. This, together with the growth in value of shares on issue has resulted in a total return of 530% for FY '25 for those shareholders that participated in the listing. Steadfast Group continued its disciplined approach to acquiring broker and agency businesses in FY '25, achieving earnings per share accretive acquisitions in line with our FY '25 guidance. The acquisitions included HWS Specialty, an independent insurance broker headquartered in London, providing wholesale, retail and reinsurance solutions across international marine and cargo, property, fine art and specie and other classes of business to the Steadfast Network and to the market. An increase -- we also increased our shareholding to 49.1% in Rothbury, and I note that the CEO of Rothbury is here this morning. Thanks, Roger. Rothbury is the second largest broker in New Zealand. We also agreed to acquire a further 42.8% in 2 tranches in June '26 and '29. In August this year, Steadfast completed the acquisition of a major stake in Novum Underwriting, a specialty underwriting agency and wholesale brokerage located in the U.S.A. Novum specializes in the digital delivery of insurance programs. And for those who do not know much about the U.S. market, insurance programs represents a major part of that market. You will also be aware that I announced in late August that I will be retiring from the Board with Vicki Allen to be appointed Chair of Steadfast immediately after the AGM. Vicki has extensive Nonexecutive Director and Chair experience, including being Chair of Mortgage Choice. Vicki joined the Steadfast Board as a Nonexecutive Director in 2021 and was appointed as Chair of the Remuneration & Performance Committee in 2022. I have been honored to serve as your Chair from 2012 -- 21st of October 2012 to date, a period which has seen the listing in August 2013 and the delivery of consistent growth in all key financial measures. In the past 3 years, Steadfast has made 2 new appointments to the Board of Directors as part of our Board renewal process, both of which refreshed the Board skill -- the broad skill of the Board. This renewal process continues with the appointment of Mr. Michael Goodwin announced in August 2025. Michael is currently a Nonexecutive Director of the large international general insurer, Hiscox Ltd, and he has over 30 years' experience in the insurance industry, having worked in Australia and the Asia Pacific region for QBE and antecedent companies for this period. Michael stands for election at today's meeting. I'm also very grateful to Joan Cleary for offering herself for reelection. Joan's extensive financial and leadership experience in the general insurance and reinsurance industry add materially to the value of your Board's oversight capability. The Board regularly reviews the Steadfast Group's remuneration arrangements for the executives to ensure that our framework remains fit for purpose and continues to deliver outperformance, achieve our core strategic objectives and retain and attract talent. Our incoming Chair, Vicki Allen, will address the remuneration report ahead of the voting for item 4 of this meeting. The first 3 months of FY '26 has seen a lower increase in premium rates in Australia compared with our expectations of 3% to 5% increase when the FY '26 guidance was originally set. We now anticipate the average premium rate increases for the full year will be around 1% to 2%. In response to the changing market conditions, management is implementing a range of initiatives, including acquisition opportunities and expense management. Steadfast FY '26 guidance remains unchanged. Principal risks and uncertainties are set out on Pages 50 to 52 of the 2025 annual report, and I urge you to have a look at those 3 pages. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank the Steadfast team for delivering another record result for our shareholders as well as continuing to provide quality products and services to our Network brokers and other stakeholders and put in place strategies for long-term growth. Our continuing growth would not have been possible without our Steadfast Network brokers, Steadfast Underwriting Agencies, our complementary businesses and the loyalty of their clients. I would like to extend my gratitude to my fellow Board Directors who continue to be focused on driving increased long-term value through new strategic initiatives supporting the Steadfast team and continually improving our governance. Finally, the Board appreciates the enormous support it received from its shareholders, particularly in providing additional capital to grow revenue and profits. From a personal point of view, it's been a great privilege to have been part of the Steadfast journey from pre-listing to now. And I can assure you I will miss being part of Steadfast and the insurance industry. So I'd now like to hand over to Vicki Allen to provide her address as incoming Chair.

Thank you, Frank. Thank you, Chair, and good morning, everyone. I'm delighted to have the opportunity to address the meeting as the incoming Chair of Steadfast Group, and I'm honored to assume the role of Chair at the close of this meeting. I joined the Steadfast Board as a Nonexecutive Director in 2021 and was appointed as Chair of the Remuneration & Performance Committee in 2022. This has given me the time to develop the insight into the operations of Steadfast, to appreciate the importance of a robust insurance industry for all stakeholders and the excellent opportunities ahead for the group. With over 30 years' experience in financial service and the property sectors, holding senior executive roles and more recently, nonexecutive director and chair roles at a number of organizations, the Board considered that I have the necessary experience to oversee the next phase of Steadfast growth. I look forward to working with my Board colleagues, the Steadfast leadership team to develop and implement our group strategy. On behalf of the Board and the executive leadership team, I thank Frank for his outstanding stewardship as Chair of the Board. Frank has been Chair of the Steadfast Group Board since 21 October 2012, as Steadfast transitioned from a broker network to a listing on the ASX in August 2013. Under Frank's guidance, Steadfast has achieved disciplined and consistent growth over the last 12 years. I wish Frank all the very best for his retirement. I'm privileged to have the opportunity to succeed Frank as Chair. I'm committed to serve you, my fellow shareholders. I take the opportunity to reconfirm the importance to me and the Steadfast Board of strong corporate governance at Steadfast. I hope to meet as many of you as possible following the conclusion of this meeting. I'll now hand back to the Chair. Thank you.

Thank you, Vicki. Before we proceed with the formal business of the meeting, I'd like Tim to say a few words and give you a bit of feel of his background. Tim?

Thanks, Frank, and good morning, everyone. It's an absolute honor to be serving in this role as acting CEO. And although I know many of you in the room already, I thought I'd provide just a brief update of my experience right across the industry. I joined QBE Insurance back in 1998, the same year that Mr. Frank O'Halloran was appointed CEO of QBE. So Frank and I have known each other for some time. During that time at QBE, I had a vast range of experiences running distribution networks, working in underwriting, claims and managing large teams right across Australasia. I've been at Steadfast for the last 10 years. I recently celebrated a 10-year anniversary at Steadfast. And for the past 5 years prior to returning to Sydney this year, I was running one of our largest subsidiary businesses called QIB Group in Queensland. QIB Group formed through the merger of 2 large organizations. And over the 5-year period, we merged and acquired 18 other businesses to serve as a central hub for the Queensland broking operations. At the same time, we were able to triple our revenue, double the earnings of that business before transferring back into Steadfast earlier this year. I feel that I'm well suited to the role. I've got a lot of experience in the industry and also well qualified to act in the CEO role. So thank you. Nice to meet you all. Thank you, Frank.

Thank you, Tim. We will now proceed with the formal business of the meeting. I propose to take the notice of the Annual General Meeting as read. Also, I will dispense with the formality of moving or seconding resolutions as all matters are properly dealt before the meeting. Voting on the resolutions will be conducted by way of poll. Please note that only shareholders, proxy advisers or shareholder company representatives may vote. I declare the polls open. Lumi Holdings and MUFG Market Services are the returning officers for this meeting. Shareholders attending the meeting online will be able to cast their vote by simply selecting one of the voting options. Your vote is automatically recorded. There is no need to press a submit or enter button. You can change your vote up until the time I declare voting closed. If you have any difficulties, please refer to the guide available in the AGM tab in the online Steadfast Investor Centre. There is also an AGM helpline provided. Once voting opens, shareholders attending the meeting in person will be presented with a list of today's resolutions on their voting keyboard -- keypad, using the track ball to highlight the resolution you wish to vote and press the green square to confirm. The resolution text will appear, bring up the voting options by pressing the green square. Press 1 to vote for the item and 2 for against and 3 to abstain. To move on to the next item, press the green square. I must admit, I sound as though like on a call and somebody saying push 1, push 2, push 3, push 4 and -- but sorry about that. But we do -- we have staff here that will help you if you're running into trouble. Steadfast staff or our returning officers will be available if you need assistance, as I said. Questions can be either asked using a microphone in the room or through the online platform. If you are a shareholder in the room and wish to ask a question, there are 2 members of staff holding roaming microphones. Please put your hand up at the appropriate time if you wish to ask a question about a particular resolution. If you are participating online through the virtual meeting website and wish to ask a question, you can either type your question or ask through audio. [Operator Instructions] Following the voting, general business questions will be taken. Shareholder questions received prior to the meeting will be addressed after the formal business of the meeting. Each resolution set out in the notice of the meeting is an ordinary resolution, and as such, must be approved by a simple majority of the votes cast by shareholders entitled to vote and voting on the resolution. Shareholders should note the voting exclusion set out in the AGM notice of the meeting. Please note that I intend to vote in favor of each resolution for those proxies that are open for the Chair's discretion, and Vicki will talk a little bit more about that on a couple of the resolutions. Resolution 1, the first item on the agenda is to consider and receive the financial report of the company and its controlled entities. The directors' report and the auditor's report for the financial year ended 30th of June 2025 are set out in the Steadfast 2025 annual report. These documents have been made available to shareholders. There is no vote on this item of the business. Alexandra, are there any questions on this subject on the financial statements online? No. Are there any questions from the floor? As there are no questions for this item, we will move on to the next item of business. Resolution 2, the next item on the agenda is the reelection of Joan Cleary as a Director of the company. Joan became a Steadfast Director on 28th of July 2022. She is a Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee and serves on the People, Governance & Culture Committee and the Nomination Committee and the Remuneration & Performance Committee. Joan is an Independent Director. Information about Joan's skill and experience can be found in the notice of the meeting and the 2025 annual report. Joan is retiring by rotation in accordance with Article 13.5 of Steadfast's Constitution and ASX Listing Rule 14.4, and is offering herself for reelection. I now invite Joan to say a few words.

Thank you, Frank. So can everybody hear me? Good. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for this opportunity to say a few words in support of my reelection to your Board. Frank has stolen my thunder a little bit, but just to reiterate, I joined the Steadfast Board in 2022. And since then, I have chaired the Audit & Risk Committee and have served on the Remuneration & Performance; the People, Culture & Governance; and the Nominations Committees. I also serve on the Board of 2 regulated general insurers. Prior to transitioning to a nonexecutive career, I worked in the insurance industry for over 30 years, who would have guessed, holding senior finance roles in both the London market and here in Australia. My executive experience includes oversight of performance and financial risk across multiple geographies as well as understanding financial services regulation, navigating the constantly changing reporting environment, dealing with complex reporting judgments and managing the challenges of legacy issues. I believe that my professional experience and independence of thought bring value to this Board and enable me to contribute to Steadfast as Steadfast continues to navigate the challenges of achieving sustainable growth and profitability in an ever more complex business environment. It has been a privilege to serve on this Board, working with this professional and dedicated group of directors and this highly talented management team. I welcome the opportunity to continue to contribute my skills to the Board and would be honored to have your support. Thank you.

Thank you, Joan. The Board, with Joan abstaining, recommends that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. Are there any questions online? No. Are there any questions from the floor? As there are no questions, we will proceed to the voting. Press now select for, against or abstain for this resolution. And please don't hesitate to ask someone who's here like me. The technology these days gets a bit more difficult as you get older. So have everyone had an opportunity? All right. Congratulations, Joan, on your reelection. She's an outstanding contributor to our Board. The next item on the agenda is the election of Michael Goodwin as a Director of the company. Michael was appointed as Steadfast Director on 15th of September 2025. Michael is an independent director. Information about Michael's skills and experience can be found in the notice of the meeting and the 2025 annual report. In accordance with Article 13.9 of Steadfast's Constitution and ASX Listing Rule 14.4, Michael must not hold office past the first Annual General Meeting following his appointment and is offering himself for reelection. I now invite Mike to say a few words.

Thanks, Frank, and good morning to everybody. It gives me a great pleasure to be here, particularly after watching the formation of Steadfast 30 years ago. So I was around in Australia at that time, and then the subsequent listing in 2013. I guess since then, there's been a very strong development and obviously, very, very good returns to shareholders over that period since 2013. In the late '90s and early 2000s, I was actually working in Australia as an actuary and as an executive. And during that period, there are significant changes in the distribution landscape with FSR and a number of things, which I'm sure a number of the brokers in the room will remember and the pain that we went through having to deal with that at that stage. But part of that, though, drove strong innovation within the Steadfast Group to actually take advantage of that, and that still goes on today. In 2004, I moved to Singapore. And for the next 8 years, managed general insurance businesses in the Asia Pacific region from India through to French Polynesia. So I got to see a lot of different parts of the world, some nice, some not so nice, but enjoyed every moment of it. 2012, I commenced my nonexecutive career, which has included being a nonexecutive director on listed international insurers and also unlisted international insurers. So I spent a lot of time working around the world during that period. Whilst overseas, though, I can see the amazing growth that Steadfast was doing, driven by the management team and also from the support of the brokers and the underwriting agencies all working together to generate that growth. When I was asked to be considered as a nonexecutive director, one of the things that I was looking at or a number of them was the value that I can bring to the Board is that international experience and helping them continue that strong growth, both in Australia and as they look for, of course, opportunities overseas. My work has also included looking at a lot of M&A transactions across the world, both from an operational and transactional experience. So that's another thing that I think I can bring to the Board. Then lastly, just a little bit about me. I'm still a registered veterinary surgeon in New South Wales, still a qualified and practicing actuary. I reside in Singapore, but I spent a lot of time around the world attending Board meetings in person. From that, I look forward to working with the Board and with the different brokers, and happy to do that with your support.

Thank you, Mike. And he actually said he was a vet and he got sick and tired of that, he decided to become an actuary. So sorry, Mike. The Board, with Mike abstaining, recommends that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. Alexandra, are there any questions online?

Chair, there is a question. It's from Mr. Stephen Mayne. it's a two-pronged question. Firstly, did Mike know any of our directors before joining the Board? And secondly, what was the recruitment -- was the recruitment process competitive and run by a headhunting firm?

The answer is there was a competitive process and a headhunter firm was involved. And the answer to the first question is, yes. But as declared and when we announced Mike to the market that he used to work for QBE and work for me. But Vicki, as incoming Chair, I don't know whether you wanted to add anything about the process.

No, Frank, you're correct. We did run a process. We had a headhunter involved. And through that process, Mike was the best candidate to suit the skills that we needed on the Board and the approach that he has in terms of governance. And I believe he's a very good fit for the Board.

Yes. And I think it's fair that most people would realize that it's important that the Board has someone, a director who has substantial international expansion because that's one of the major strategies of the group going forward. Are there any questions from the floor? As there are no questions, we will proceed to the voting. Please now select for, against or abstain for this resolution. Congratulations, Mike, on your election. The next item on the agenda is to adopt the remuneration report for the financial year ended 30th of June 2025. As Vicki is Chair of that committee and the incoming Chair, I invite her to say a few words.

Thank you, Frank. The objectives of the Steadfast Group remuneration framework are: to maintain market competitive remuneration that enables the group to attract and retain key talent; to align remuneration to the group's strategic and business objectives and the creation of shareholder value; be fair, transparent and easily understood by all stakeholders; be acceptable to shareholders and aligned to community expectations. The Steadfast Group and the executive team have performed strongly and achieved full year financial results within the guidance range announced on the 29th of August 2024. We believe that the results achieved by the Steadfast Group reflect our focus on sustainable performance, continued growth organically and by acquisition and the leadership and the efforts of our experienced executive team. I invite you to read our remuneration report on Pages 54 to 77 of the 2025 annual report, which provides more detail on our policy, including the short- and long-term incentives for key executives for the financial year. Looking ahead, in FY '26, the Steadfast Group will revise its short-term incentive plan for executives. This will include the use of a company balance scorecard of metrics to determine the incentive pool available for distribution. Up to 65% of the balance scorecard will be based on financial measures across underlying NPAT and several strategic measures and the 35% on nonfinancial measures across other strategic measures including customer and subsidiary, people, risk and reputation. These changes will be published in the 2026 annual report. We invite any feedback on our remuneration framework. I'll now hand over to Frank.

Thank you, Vicki. I felt it appropriate that Vicki talk to this resolution because it's going to be her responsibility going forward. The vote on this resolution is advisory only and does not bind the directors or Steadfast. Nevertheless, the Board will take into account the outcome of the vote when considering Steadfast's future remuneration arrangements. Noting that each director has a personal interest in their own remuneration from Steadfast in this resolution, the Board recommends that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. Alexandra, are there any questions online?

Frank, there is another question from Mr. Stephen Mayne. The question is, thank you for disclosing the proxies early to the ASX along with the formal addresses. What caused the 15% remuneration report protest vote? Did a proxy adviser recommend against?

Yes. I'll hand this one over to Vicki. But before we go, you've got to remember that 85% voted in favor. So over to you, Vicki.

Yes. Thank you. A proxy adviser did recommend to vote no for the remuneration report. However, other proxy advisers recommended to vote yes.

Are there any questions from the floor? Someone will bring you a microphone.

Elizabeth Fish speaking from the Australian Shareholders' Association. Thank you very much for taking my comment today. We do have a query about the remuneration report. And the fact is that the long-term incentive is still measured over 3 years, while the majority of ASX 200 companies measure over 4 years. And we also thought that dividends should not accrue on unvested rights and that the underlying net profit after tax is used to calculate the ROC and earnings per share continues when LTI or the long-term incentives. So would you like to comment on that?

Elizabeth, thank you for your question. I'll again hand over to the Chair of the Remuneration Committee to explain.

Thank you, Elizabeth. The first of your questions was in relation to the LTI period of tenure, which is currently 3 years. I do acknowledge that there are differences in the market where that period of time can be from 3 to 4 to 5 years, depending on the organization. It's something we review annually, the long-term incentive scheme, and I'm always open to feedback in relation to the setting of that long-term incentive. I think your second point was in relation to dividends accruing. Dividends do not accrue on the long-term incentive scheme. There is a notional accrual of dividends on the short-term DEAs, and the short-term DEAs are in place for 12 months. The underlying profit is used for the calculation of return on capital purposes. We choose underlying profit because we think that's the best measure of the operational performance of the organization and therefore, the best measure for us to apply to the efforts of our senior executive team in calculating return on capital and calculating their performance for the year. Thank you, Elizabeth.

Are there any further questions from the floor? As there are no further questions, we will proceed to the voting. Please now select for, against or abstain for this resolution. The next item on the agenda is to approve the grant of equity to the Managing Director and CEO in relation to his FY '25 remuneration. It is very important for you to note that the Board has the discretion to change the number of shares provided to Mr. Kelly following achievement of performance hurdles where the Board considers it necessary to protect the financial soundness of Steadfast. Adverse outcomes have arisen that reduce the original assessment of the performance, generating the provision of the benefit. Full performance outcomes have been materially impacted by changes in Steadfast's dividend policy, capital structure, gearing or corporate structure. The nonexecutive directors will exercise such discretion in a manner that is consistent with supporting sound and effective risk management, protecting Steadfast's long-term stability and aligned with the creation of long-term shareholder value and will take into account any factors considered appropriate. Malus and clawback provisions also apply. If and to the extent appropriate in all the circumstances, the Board may exercise any applicable discretion available to it under the relevant plan rules. Alexandra, are there any questions online?

No questions.

Are there any questions from the floor? As there are no questions, we will proceed to the voting. Please now select for, against or abstain for this resolution. The next item on the agenda is to approve the grant of equity to the Managing Director and CEO in relation to his FY '24 remuneration. Any vesting in FY '27 of the FY '24 long-term incentive DEAs, that's deferred equity, will be subject to the nonexecutive discretion as well as the 3-year performance testing, which is based on underlying diluted earnings per share growth and relative TSR hurdles over the period. These measures are aligned to the share price performance and shareholder returns. The nonexecutive directors retain the discretion to amend the vesting dates, vesting conditions and adjust downward the vesting outcomes of any unpaid or unvested performance-related DEAs. The nonexecutive directors will exercise such discretion in a manner that is consistent with supporting sound and effective governance and will take into account any factors considered appropriate. Malus and clawback provisions also apply. If and to the extent appropriate in all the circumstances, the Board may exercise any applicable discretion available to it under the relevant plan rules. The nonexecutive directors recommends that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. Alexandra, are there any questions online?

Yes, Frank, there is a question. It's a long question, but the end of it relates to what are the clawback provisions in these incentive grants if the -- if Mr. Kelly departs the company?

I'll hand that one over to the incoming Chair because that will be the future Board's decision.

We have the usual malus and clawback provisions available to us. And as Frank said, in all circumstances, the Board can apply any discretion available to it under the plan rules.

Are there any questions from the floor? As there are no further questions, we will proceed to the voting. Please now select for, against or abstain for this resolution. The next item on the agenda is to approve termination benefits to the MD and CEO in connection with Mr. Kelly seeking to hold off an office or position of employment with Steadfast or a related body corporate in circumstances of death, genuine retirement, redundancy or total/permanent disability. The nonexecutive directors recommends that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. Alexandra, are there any questions online?

No questions, Chair.

Are there any questions from the floor? As there are no questions, we will proceed to the voting. Please now select for, against or abstain for this resolution. The next item on the agenda is to approve termination benefits generally. For the purpose of Section 200B and 200E of the Corporations Act 2001, and for all other purposes, the giving of all benefits up to and including 30th of September 2028, be approved in connection with awards relating to the 3 financial years ended 30th of June 2026, 2027 and 2028, respectively, to current or future key management personnel of Steadfast or persons who hold a managerial or executive office in Steadfast or a related body corporate other than Mr. Robert Kelly, in connection with that person ceasing to hold an office or position of employment with Steadfast or a related body corporate in circumstances of death, genuine retirement, redundancy or total and permanent disablement. As set out in the explanatory notes, which form part of this notice of meeting to be approved. The nonexecutive directors recommend that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. Alexandra, are there any questions online?

There are no questions, Chair.

Are there any questions from the floor? As there are no questions, we will proceed to the voting. Please now select for, against or abstain for this resolution. We have received some general questions from shareholders, which we would like to be able to share with you. Alexandra, please open the online audio questions and read out any online questions, and I or the appropriate person will respond.

Thank you, Chair. There is a further question from Mr. Stephen Mayne. Thank you to Frank O'Halloran for his long service to this company. What does he regard as the 3 best decisions the Steadfast Board made during his time with the company? And does he have any regrets?

Not my answer because I've loved every minute of it. And if I've made a contribution to the success of Steadfast, I'd be very proud of that. But this Steadfast is a team, it's not 1 individual, it's not 2 individuals. It's a group of individuals, and that includes our Board of Directors. So the credit should be taken by everybody about the success of Steadfast. So thanks for the questions, Stephen. I owe you a beer.

And there are no further questions, Chair.

Are there any questions from the floor?

[indiscernible] Are you getting much business in the cybersecurity insurance area?

Thank you. Well, I might give that question to either Mike or to Tim.

Okay. I'll take that first, Frank. The answer is, yes. It's a key risk for many of our clients, particularly SME businesses. It's generally underrepresented though in terms of the portfolio mix. As an example, we've recently compared the uptake of cyber insurance for business pack policies, and it's generally around the 5% to 10% rate. So it is underrepresented, particularly when you consider most firms would rank it as their #1 or 2 largest risks to their business. So yes, it's a good opportunity for us going forward.

Thanks, Tim. That concludes -- sorry, are there any other questions from the floor?

I noticed reference in the CEO report to beginning to get involved with artificial intelligence and that certainly makes sense. I guess, we don't know where artificial intelligence is going to end up in the business sphere generally. But it seems to me like a classic opportunity for a disruptor to come in and start competing with the insurance brokers because it shouldn't be -- at least in the placement of business, risk management might be a bit harder. And well, claims management probably would fit in. Have you given any thought to this at this early stage?

Yes, we certainly have. It's regularly on the Board agenda, and it will continue to be on the Board agenda, I assume, Vicki. But unless you want to add to what I've said, it's high priority.

Yes. And in many respects, it can be an enabler for broker businesses to create more efficiency so they can spend more time with their clients. But we're moving cautiously. We're enabling the opportunity across the business for teams to participate and learn about AI. We have importantly considered our data management processes to ensure that we're appropriately managing data. And we're taking opportunities to, say, create small teams and look at particular examples of how we might take advantage of AI. Actually, I might ask Greg to make some comments about how he's using AI in his own broking business.

Well, I just wanted to say that we see AI as not a threat but an opportunity. We do see that it will affect our business and our competition, but I think most brokers are really looking at how we can develop it and use it to actually give clients a better service, improve their whole way that they do business with us. So we actually see it as a complete opportunity.

All right. Thank you. Are there any other questions from the floor? All right. That concludes our discussion on the items of business. In a couple of minutes, I will close the voting system. Please ensure you have cast all your votes on all resolutions. I will now pause to allow you time to finalize those votes. [Voting]

I now declare voting closed on all items. Ladies and gentlemen, the business of this meeting has been completed. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank shareholders for attending today's meeting, and I declare the meeting closed. But one thing I can assure you is I'll be sitting out there with you next year, and I probably will have a number of questions for the Board. So thank you. Thanks, everyone.

Can I just say a couple of words, please? Sorry, can I just say a couple of words before we finally close. It would really be remiss of me not to thank Frank O'Halloran for acting as our Chair since 2013. I told the story yesterday. We were 300, 400 insurance brokers. We've built this business from 0 to where it got to in 2013. And when Robert and the rest of the directors at the time decided they wanted to list this business, us, as average insurance brokers, we really, really were quite -- we were worried about where it would go and what the journey would look like. But the funny thing is Robert and myself, we were looking at a Chairman for this business. And when Frank O'Halloran's name came up, we just thought, well, he's an icon. This man is just amazing. If we've got him on our team, then we are going to have the right advice, the right information given to us, and Frank delivered in hands. Him and Robert have been an amazing partnership in this building of Steadfast from 2013 to where we are today. We should really thank him and the Steadfast insurance brokers and broker land out there, really wanted to take the opportunity today to say thank you, Frank, for everything that you've done for Steadfast. Steadfast is an amazing business. Don't ever underestimate that. Insurance broking is an amazing, amazing business. We've got a lot of opportunities out there. The only regret that I have as a director and as a person is I wish I was 20 years younger to take advantage of what we've got going in front of us. So thanks, Frank. Thanks on behalf of all the Steadfast brokers, I really want to thank you for what you've done for Steadfast. All right. Thank you. We have some -- I think we've got some coffee and drinks out there and a few bites by the way.