Bell Financial Group Limited's (ASX:BFG) CEO Looks Like They Deserve Their Pay Packet

The performance at Bell Financial Group Limited (ASX:BFG) has been quite strong recently and CEO Alastair Provan has played a role in it. Shareholders will have this at the front of their minds in the upcoming AGM on 19 March 2021. The focus will probably be on the future company strategy as shareholders cast their votes on resolutions such as executive remuneration and other matters. Here is our take on why we think CEO compensation is not extravagant.

View our latest analysis for Bell Financial Group

Comparing Bell Financial Group Limited's CEO Compensation With the industry

At the time of writing, our data shows that Bell Financial Group Limited has a market capitalization of AU$565m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of AU$1.0m for the year to December 2020. Notably, that's an increase of 17% over the year before. We note that the salary of AU$522.9k makes up a sizeable portion of the total compensation received by the CEO.

On comparing similar companies from the same industry with market caps ranging from AU$257m to AU$1.0b, we found that the median CEO total compensation was AU$918k. This suggests that Bell Financial Group remunerates its CEO largely in line with the industry average. Furthermore, Alastair Provan directly owns AU$9.0m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success.

Component	2020	2019	Proportion (2020)
Salary	AU$523k	AU$524k	50%
Other	AU$521k	AU$371k	50%
Total Compensation	AU$1.0m	AU$894k	100%

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 72% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 28% of the pie. Bell Financial Group pays a modest slice of remuneration through salary, as compared to the broader industry. If salary dominates total compensation, it suggests that CEO compensation is leaning less towards the variable component, which is usually linked with performance.

Bell Financial Group Limited's Growth

Over the past three years, Bell Financial Group Limited has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 23% per year. Its revenue is up 19% over the last year.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. This sort of respectable year-on-year revenue growth is often seen at a healthy, growing business. We don't have analyst forecasts, but you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has Bell Financial Group Limited Been A Good Investment?

Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Bell Financial Group Limited for providing a total return of 194% over three years. As a result, some may believe the CEO should be paid more than is normal for companies of similar size.

In Summary...

Seeing that the company has put in a relatively good performance, the CEO remuneration policy may not be the focus at the AGM. However, investors will get the chance to engage on key strategic initiatives and future growth opportunities for the company and set their longer-term expectations.

CEO compensation is a crucial aspect to keep your eyes on but investors also need to keep their eyes open for other issues related to business performance. That's why we did some digging and identified 1 warning sign for Bell Financial Group that you should be aware of before investing.

Important note: Bell Financial Group is an exciting stock, but we understand investors may be looking for an unencumbered balance sheet and blockbuster returns. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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