Macquarie Group chief executive Shemara Wikramanayake is confident the company can maintain its high return on equity, which was 19 per cent at the half-year, because of the advantages that flow from its expanding global presence.Speaking at an investor briefing in Sydney yesterday, Wikramanayake said: "We see very good opportunities that hit our return hurdles. That is because of the footprint of the business. Our people continue to find opportunities."She believes Macquarie, which has 56 per cent of its 15,110 employees in overseas offices, is still in the early stage of its global growth. Macquarie has a share of about 5 per cent of managed fund assets in Australia, while in the Americas it has a market share of about 0.5 per cent with a portfolio that 25 times bigger. It has plenty of room for growth.David Fass, the chief executive of Macquarie's Europe, Middle East and Asia division, said the group's international offices were reaching critical mass, allowing it to reach deep into a number of niches."We are hiring the best professionals. We are a trusted partner in a number of niches. We are deep into the energy transition and the modernisation of infrastructure."Macquarie maintained guidance for its full year result. It expects profit for the year to March to be up 15 per cent on the 2017/18 result.At an investor briefing in Sydney yesterday, Wikramanayake said the group's annuity businesses, Macquarie Asset Management, Banking and Financial Services and Corporate and Asset Finance produced a slight increase in profit in the December quarter, compared with the December quarter in 2017.She said the market-facing businesses, Macquarie Capital and Commodities and Global Markets, produced a significant increase in profit, thanks largely to higher principal revenue in Macquarie Capital and strong commodities performance in CGM.She confirmed that she, along with former CEO Nicholas Moore and a number of staff, are "persons of interest" in a German investigation over alleged tax fraud arising from a transaction.