Wayne Lasky

MaxCap Group’s flagship commercial real estate debt vehicle, the MaxCap Investment Trust (MIT), has reached $1 billion in funds under management, a milestone reflecting broad-based adoption from pension funds, insurance companies, wealth management groups and family offices.

The milestone comes as MIT’s First Mortgage Fund recently secured a A$75 million investment from Apollo-managed funds or accounts, alongside an Investment-Grade rating from leading Australian research house Lonsec within two years since MIT’s inception.

“MIT’s product attributes are based solely on direct investor feedback – most notably consistent monthly liquidity, reliable distributions and portfolio diversification with strong downside protection,” said Wayne Lasky, Executive Chairman and Co-founder of MaxCap Group. “As MIT continues on its strong growth trajectory, we expect increasing institutional engagement, as investors continue to seek strategies that can provide diversification benefits with lower concentration risk and target attractive risk-adjusted returns.”

MIT’s First Mortgage Fund has delivered a 11.05 per cent net return for the 12 months to 31 May 2025, while the High Yield Fund achieved a 11.87 per cent net return over the same period. MIT maintains a diversified portfolio of more than 80 loans backed by real assets across eight geographies and seven property sectors.

Over the past two decades, MaxCap Group has established itself as a major non-bank player in the Australasian commercial real estate sector, including being the first to secure an institutional mandate in 2011. With non-banks currently providing around 18 per cent of commercial real estate debt in Australia, compared to around 62 per cent in the US, MaxCap Group sees a significant expansion opportunity to further capitalise on the global shift toward private assets and, more specifically, real estate-backed private credit^[1].

“We believe MIT is particularly well-positioned in Australia’s living sector, where our first mortgage debt positions lean into what we see as a once-in-a-generation undersupply of housing. This is helping to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns, while also providing investors with monthly distributions and liquidity that they value”, said Rob Hattersley, Group Head of Capital at MaxCap Group.

“As the funding gap created by bank regulation continues to grow, we’re seeing increasing quality in both sponsors and deal flow. High-quality developers who previously relied on bank financing alone are now seeking a more flexible, patient capital approach – creating better opportunities for our investors.”

Despite rapid growth, MaxCap Group maintains disciplined underwriting and continues to focus on senior debt which represents around 85 per cent of its total loan book today. MaxCap Group also maintains one of Australasia’s largest specialist real estate debt origination teams outside of the major banks, enabling the fund manager to generate a significant origination pipeline.

MIT provides access to diversified Australasian commercial real estate loans through two options:

• First Mortgage Fund: targeting RBA + 5 per cent p.a. (11.05 per cent net return to May 2025)
• High Yield Fund: targeting RBA + 8 per cent p.a. (11.87 per cent net return to May 2025)
• Both MIT funds offer monthly distributions and redemptions, with underlying origination fees shared at least 50 per cent with investors, providing strong alignment. They also adhere to strict concentration limits by sponsor, sector, geography and investment type.

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According to SuperRatings data, the median balanced option rose an estimated 2.0% in March, while the median growth option rose an estimated 2.4% and the median capital stable option rose an estimated 0.9%. Over the 2020-21 financial year to date, the median balanced option returned 12.2%, reflecting the strength and speed of the post-pandemic recovery, which extended through to the end of the March quarter.

As Australia confronts the short-term effects of the pandemic, members should expect markets to remain volatile, but the theme of 2021 is certainly one of ongoing recovery as the jobs market improves and economic activity picks up once again.

For younger members, long-term trends like the digitisation of economies and work automation—themes sped up by the pandemic—may prove to have the biggest impact on the growth of their retirement savings.

“The March returns data reinforced the success that super has seen in rebuilding from the depths of the pandemic last year,” said SuperRatings Executive Director Kirby Rappell.

“The real bright spot has been the bounce back in the labour market, which has restored confidence to households and helped reboot consumer spending. The reopening of the economy and the low or zero rates of community transmission we’ve experienced in Australia in recent months have galvanised the recovery.”

Pension returns were also positive in March. The median balanced pension option returned an estimated 2.1% over the month and 13.2% over the financial year to date. The median pension growth option returned an estimated 2.5% and the median capital stable option gained an estimated 1.0% through the month.

Thursday’s labour force figures continue to demonstrate the strength of Australia’s recovery. A further 70,700 jobs were created in March, taking the unemployment rate 0.2 points lower to 5.6%.

With the critical JobKeeper support now at an end and banks requiring mortgages to be serviced after a brief hiatus for those in need, it remains to be seen what the immediate economic fallout will be, but so far households appear to be holding up well.

“The vaccine story has been key to the recent rise in markets and super fund balances,” said Mr Rappell.

“However, there will likely be a period of adjustment, including some scarring effects from business closures and job losses, that we’ll need to navigate as we enter the new normal, but these should prove temporary. Overall, while the pandemic is certainly not over, we do foresee a period of greater stability for members.”

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