In many ways, Sandon Capital’s activist campaign against Magellan Financial Group is built around restoring the thinking that turned Magellan into one of the country’s most successful fund managers.

The circumstances surrounding Magellan’s performance problems, the spectacular departure of its talismanic leader Hamish Douglass, and the 90 per cent fall in its share price are well known. Magellan chief executive David George is trying to win back the market’s trust by rebuilding funds under management, which peaked at $116 billion in November 2021 and now sit at just $41 billion.