One month on from the Royal Commission’s findings, its shadow has continued to linger over Australia’s economy and banking sector.

Australia’s small cap sector was not immune, losing 24 per cent between November 29, 2017 and February 4, 2019 – when Justice Hayne presented his final report.

This was worse than most companies caught up in the Royal Commission, with the notable exemption of AMP (ASX: AMP) which lost 54 per cent. Even NAB (ASX: NAB) and the Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) only lost 13 per cent and 9 per cent respectively.

Yes, that’s right, small caps were hit worse than companies directly implicated and scrutinised by the Commission.

The winners

But since the findings, small caps have rallied nearly 11%. Of 20 finance stocks only 5 have declined. Curiously, Mortgage Choice (ASX: MOC) are not one of them. Despite falling 2 per cent yesterday, it has gained 12% since the findings were handed down.

Of all finance small caps the biggest winner was Raiz Invest (ASX: RZI) which has gained 50 per cent. Its peers Selfwealth (ASX: SWF) and Domacom (ASX: DCL) gained 22 per cent and 10 per cent respectively representing an average gain of 27 per cent.

Despite talk about a credit crunch, consumer finance stocks were the next biggest winners gaining 9 per cent. Perhaps investors believe it’s only the big firms that are turning off the tap for consumers.

The biggest winner among these stocks was Credible Labs (ASX: CRD) which has gained 50 per cent. Nevertheless, it remains based in Silicon Valley and mainly serves the American market, suggesting investors are more bullish on the American economy than Australia’s.

But, this did not stop Splitit Payments (ASX: SPT) skyrocketing since its IPO. Its growth has slowed recently, though, having only gained 72 per cent since the Royal Commission from 79 cents to $1.35.

But investors lucky enough to get in at the IPO price of 20 cents have more reason to be smug, with the stock having gained 573 per cent since then.

Here’s how finance ASX small caps have performed during the Royal Commission and in the last month…

Ticker Name Price (I) Market Cap Total Return: 29 Nov 2017-1 Feb 2019 Total Return since 5 February 2019 GICS Industry
GMY GOLDFIELDS MONEY LTD 0.705 58102856 -40.2% 3.7% Banks
MOC MORTGAGE CHOICE LTD 0.88 111247720 -53.7% 12.1% Thrifts & Mortgage finance
YBR YELLOW BRICK ROAD HOLDINGS L 0.054 15335298 -39.3% -38.6% Thrifts & Mortgage finance
AFG AUSTRALIAN FINANCE GROUP LTD 1.21 262071456 -9.8% 39.5% Thrifts & Mortgage finance
RMC RESIMAC GROUP LTD 0.48 192066800 -1.8% 2.1% Thrifts & Mortgage finance
ABA AUSWIDE BANK LTD 5.3 223567168 12.4% 1.1% Thrifts & Mortgage finance
CLH COLLECTION HOUSE LTD 1.32 185148144 8.8% -4.9% Consumer Finance
MNY MONEY3 CORP LTD 2.01 367704032 19.8% 16.4% Consumer Finance
FEI FE INVESTMENTS GROUP LTD 0.088 15926350 -40.6% -7.4% Consumer Finance
FSA FSA GROUP LTD 1.14 142605568 -20.1% -0.9% Consumer Finance
CRD CREDIBLE LABS INC-CDI 1.17 285328256 0 50% Consumer Finance
WZR WISR LTD 0.065 37793356 69.0% -13.3% Consumer Finance
CA8 COASSETS LTD 0.12 24657370 -41.2% -20% Consumer Finance
SWF SELFWEALTH LTD 0.073 11087137 -60.9% 21.7% Capital Markets
RZI RAIZ INVEST LTD 0.69 43711792 0 50% Capital Markets
DCL DOMACOM LTD 0.11 15188341 -31.5% 10% Capital Markets
ENA ENSURANCE LTD 0.034 10746952 -49.2% 6.3% Insurance
GDG GENERATION DEVELOPMENT GROUP 0.58 72458384 -32.2% -22.7% Insurance
FIG FREEDOM INSURANCE GROUP LTD 0.02 4794470 -97.2% 0 Insurance
SPT SPLITIT PAYMENTS LTD 1.325 320676672 N/A 72.1% 451020
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