← Deep analysesHome
mttssn research · Nordic Deep Dive
Evli (EVLI.HE)
Financials · Finnish asset-/wealth-manager · FY2025
Analysis date: 2026-06-15
Price at analysis: €24.00
Method: mttssn_streamlined_v1
Conviction: MEDIUM
HOLD
Conviction: MEDIUM
A high-quality, capital-light Finnish asset/wealth manager — record AUM EUR 21.4bn with positive net new money, ~20% normalized ROE, net cash and a ~5.1% dividend yield (~89% payout). It is fully priced at 4.12x book / 18x earnings; the Gordon P/B 'screams overvalued' but is a weak anchor for a near-full-payout AUM compounder. HOLD; base EUR 24.
Return on Equity
27.9%
Cost of equity ~10.0%
Price / Book
3.98×
4.12x book (capital-light, ~89% payout)
Fair P/B (Gordon)
3.55×
(ROE−g)/(COE−g); g 3%
Price / Target
€24 → €24
+0% base; HOLD
Price / Earnings
14.3×
~18x earnings
P / TBV
5.50×
Price / tangible book
Economic Profit
+€21M
Residual income positive; ROE ~20% vs 10% COE
Equity (book)
€160M
Net cash; material NCI (owners' ROE < headline)
Thesis

Evli runs institutional and wealth asset management plus funds, alternatives and advisory — a fee-based, capital-light model. AUM hit a record EUR 21.4bn (EUR 21.5bn at Q1 2026) with EUR 1.6bn of fund net new money; recurring management fees are the base (~EUR 103m) and performance fees (EUR 19m FY2025, above trend) are the lumpy top-up. Owners' ROE is ~24% reported / ~20% normalized (material NCI means the headline 28% overstates the owners' figure), net cash, ~5.1% dividend yield at ~89% payout.

Valuation is full: 4.12x book and ~18x earnings. The Gordon fair P/B (~3.0x on the reported ROE) implies downside, but Gordon is a weak anchor for a near-full-payout, AUM-driven compounder where book equity is tiny relative to fee-earning AUM — P/E + yield + AUM trajectory are the better lens. On those it is full-to-rich rather than a clear short. HOLD.

Valuation · residual income (equity frame) & scenarios

The Gordon fair P/B (~3.0x on reported ROE) flags overvaluation, but understates a capital-light, ~89%-payout AUM compounder; on ~18x P/E + 5.1% yield + record AUM it is full-to-rich.

Base EUR 24 (fair on P/E + yield; AUM the swing); bull EUR 29 if AUM/net-new-money + performance fees keep compounding; bear EUR 18 on a market drawdown shrinking AUM + fees.

Market-implied ROE
30.9%
sustainable ROE the price already demands — vs 27.9% observed
Current → Fair P/B
3.98× → 3.55×
at a sustained 27.9% ROE, Ke 10.0%, g 3%
Excess-return premium
€15 / sh
value above €6.03 book from the +17.9pp ROE−Ke spread

The operating reverse-DCF (NOPAT / invested capital / WACC) does not apply to a balance-sheet business — leverage is the raw material and "net debt" is not meaningful. The equity is valued on residual income: book equity plus the present value of returns above the cost of equity, discounted at Ke; the single-stage lens is the Gordon fair price-to-book, (ROE−g)/(Ke−g). The market prices in a sustainable ROE of 30.9% vs 27.9% currently earned; at a sustained 27.9% ROE the warranted P/B is 3.55× (€21/sh, -11%).

Scenario24m targetImpl. ROEUpsideProb.Driver
Bull€2937%+21%30%AUM/NNM + performance fees keep compounding
Base€2431%+0%45%Fair on P/E + yield; AUM the swing
Bear€1824%-25%25%Market drawdown shrinks AUM + fees
Prob-weighted€24+0%100%Scenario-weighted expected value

Sensitivity — fair value / share at Ke × ROE

Ke \ ROE10%14%18%22%26%30%34%
8.50%8121621253034
9.25%7111418222630
10.00% (base)691316202327
10.75%591215182124
11.50%581113161922

Green = fair value above the current price of €24.00. For a financial the surface is dominated by cost of equity and sustainable ROE — not unit growth.

Method & data. ROE 27.9% and book equity are observed (net income / total equity). Cost of equity 10.0% and terminal g 3% are assumptions, shown explicitly and overridable.

⤓ Download the full model (.xlsx) — formula-driven sheets; flex the blue input cells and the model cascades in Excel.

Key drivers

1. AUM growth + NNM

Record EUR 21.4bn AUM with positive net new money compounds the fee base.

2. Performance fees

Lumpy performance fees add upside in strong years.

3. High dividend

~5.1% yield at ~89% payout — the core return.

4. Capital-light ROE

~20% normalized ROE, net cash — capital-efficient.

Key risks
Conclusion

Evli is a high-quality, capital-light asset manager compounding a record AUM with a ~5.1% yield, but fully priced at 4.12x book / ~18x earnings. HOLD; base EUR 24.

Own it for AUM compounding + the dividend, not a re-rating; accumulate on a market-driven pullback.

Footnote evidence & sources

Every adjustment traces to the cited note/page in the source filing — click to open it there. Source reports archived locally.

Adjustment / figureValueSourceWhy mttssn treats it this way
Net revenue FY2025128Key figures - Income statement p.4 / Income statement p.23Reported net revenue (income total 138.6 less fee+interest expenses 10.1) = the asset manager's top line. Up 1.3% on reported FY2024 126.8; +17% on the company's comparable 109.7.
Recurring fund management fees - UCITS53.6Development of commission income p.8Largest recurring fee line; UCITS fund fees 53.6 (50.6 prior). Core of the stable, AUM-linked fee base separated from lumpy performance fees.
Fund performance fees FY202518.2Development of commission income p.8 + narrative p.8LUMPY performance fees: 18.2 (8.3 prior), more than double. Text: 'Performance-based fees from investment funds during the review period amounted to EUR 18.2 million (EUR 8.3 million)'. Stripped out for normalized ROE.
Asset-management performance fees FY20250.9Development of commission income p.8Second performance-fee line (AM performance fees) 0.9 (0.4 prior); added to fund performance fees for total performance fees of 19.1m.
Net commission income FY2025122Key figures - Net commissions p.4Reported net commissions 121.9 (106.3 prior). Recurring fee base = 121.9 less 19.1 performance fees = ~102.8m. The +15% YoY rise is partly the performance-fee spike.
Operating profit FY202556.1Key figures p.4 / Income statement p.23Operating profit 56.1 (58.2 reported / 43.3 comparable prior), a 43.7% operating margin. +30% on the corporate-transaction-adjusted comparable.
Profit for the financial year FY202544.5Consolidated income statement p.23Total group profit 44.5 (49.9 prior). Of this, EUR 8.0m is attributable to non-controlling interests, leaving 36.5m to owners.
Profit attributable to owners of parent FY202536.5Consolidated income statement - Attributable to p.23Shareholders of parent company 36.5 (44.6 prior); the correct numerator for owners' ROE and the basis for EPS. NCI takes 8.0m.
Equity to owners of parent (31 Dec 2025)154Consolidated balance sheet - Equity p.25 / Statement of changes in equity p.26Owners' equity 154.4 (149.3 prior) is the ROE / P-B denominator base. Total equity 159.7 includes 5.3m NCI.
Total equity (31 Dec 2025)160Consolidated balance sheet - Total equity p.25Total equity 159.7 (153.5 prior); used for the company-reported ROE 28.4% and the equity-to-assets ratio 43.6%.
Intangible assets and goodwill (31 Dec 2025)44.1Consolidated balance sheet - Assets p.25Intangibles & goodwill 44.1 (44.6 prior) = 28.5% of total equity; deducted to tangible equity ~110.3m (P/TBV de-emphasised for an asset manager).
Return on equity FY2025 (company-reported)0.284Key figures - Return on equity p.4Reported ROE 28.4% (34.4% prior) uses total group profit over average total equity. Owners'-basis ROE is 24.0%; normalized ex-performance-fees ~19.7%.
AUM net (end-Dec 2025)21.4Financial performance / AUM p.3, p.9Net assets under management EUR 21.4bn (18.9 prior) incl. associates; 19.0bn ex-associates. The key value driver for fee income; rose to EUR 21.5bn at end-Mar 2026.
Net new money - mutual funds FY20251.6Traditional mutual funds p.10Mutual fund net subscriptions ~EUR 1.6bn (vs ~0.0bn prior), of which EUR 988m from international clients - the strategic growth engine.
Net new money - alternatives FY20250.331Alternative investment funds p.11Net subscriptions and investment commitments in alternative investment funds totaled EUR 331m (265m prior); alternatives AUM 3.2bn (2.8 prior).
Dividend per share proposed FY20251.23Board proposal p.3, p.19Board proposes EUR 1.23/share (1.18 prior); total ~EUR 32.6m, ~89% of owners' profit; 5.1% yield on EUR 24.00. High, well-covered payout.
Equity per share / EPS / shares FY20255.83Key figures per share p.4 / Shares and shareholders p.18Equity per share EUR 5.83 (5.64 prior) = owners' BVPS. EPS diluted 1.33 (undiluted 1.38). Total shares 26,484,899 (14,397,812 A + 12,087,087 B), no own shares.
Share price end-2025 / live price22.6Shares and shareholders p.18 (year-end); live price via stockanalysis.comReport's own 31 Dec 2025 close EUR 22.60 (market value 598.6m). Current verified price EUR 24.00 (8 Jun 2026) used for live multiples; market cap 635.6m.
Q1 2026 net revenue / operating profit / ROE34.8Interim Report 1-3/2026 summary (evli.com)Latest interim read: Q1 2026 net revenue EUR 34.8m (27.7 prior), operating profit 16.1m (11.4), ROE 33.6% (28.0), EPS diluted 0.39 (0.27), AUM EUR 21.5bn - favourable start, fund + performance fees driving growth.
Analysis history

How the mttssn view has evolved — each prior dated note is preserved.

Quality · Buffett tenets10 / 15
Understandable business
Evli — Finnish asset-/wealth-manager (institutional + funds + alternatives + advisory); fee-based, capital-light; legible.
Durable moat
Moderate: sticky institutional AUM + a strong fund franchise (record EUR 21.4bn, positive net new money), but asset management is competitive + market-beta-exposed.
Able & honest management
Shareholder-friendly, ~89% payout; lumpy performance fees + material NCI to read carefully.
Financial strength
Capital-light, net cash, high ROE (~20% normalized).
Margin of safety
None: 4.12x book / 18x earnings — full for an AUM-driven compounder.