Andrew Mehrtens leads offer of Residential Housing funds to institutional and retail investors
Centric Wealth DHA Fund wins PIR Unlisted Fund of the Year.
Wealth management firm, Centric Wealth and its partner DHA, have been awarded a prestigious award by Property Investment Research (PIR) for the Centric DHA Residential Property Fund (the Fund). The award comes as the Fund receives a AA+ rating from the same research house.
The Fund, gives investors exposure to a diversified residential property portfolio that is underpinned by long-term leases to the Defence Housing Australia (DHA), delivering income returns supported by AAA rated contracts.
Centric Wealth Chief Executive Officer, Phil Kearns, said the Fund was designed to overcome many of the issues that prevent investors from accessing residential real estate.
“This is the first time DHA has offered properties via a trust structure and it is also the largest residential fund of its kind in Australia. What sets this Fund apart from other residential funds is the Government backing, diversified portfolio and the fund managers ability to select the underlying properties. The portfolio has been specifically designed to provide investors with geographic diversification using a population weighted portfolio of residential properties across Australia and a mixture of housing styles.
“We are very pleased that besides receiving a AA+ rating from PIR, we have now also been awarded Unlisted Fund of the Year.”
DHA also maintains a database of more than 10,000 prospective investors, and the history of asset sales undertaken by DHA suggests there will be limited risk to the saleability of assets.
Mr Kearns said the Fund is available to both retail and institutional investors. However, the Fund has particular relevance for institutional investors as access to residential real estate is usually difficult for wholesale investors to access. The minimum investment for institutional investors is $20 million, while high net worth individuals can invest in the Fund for a minimum of $50,000.
“Our newly appointed Business Development Manager, Andrew Mehrtens, is focusing on the sale of the Fund to superannuation funds and institutions. Centric Wealth has a clear strategy for expanding our operations and Andrew has quickly become a valued member of the Products and Services team.”
Mehrtens has enjoyed a meritorious international rugby career that saw him played 70 tests for the All Backs and score 967 test points, as well as coaching and playing in England, Italy and France. In 2011, he completed a Bachelor of Arts degree with Stage 1 and 2 Finance papers from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch.