Note · 014 · May 2026 Jay Abraham · 6 min
Why we underwrite the sponsor before we look at the site.
Three things we test for before we ever order a valuation. The first is whether they've actually finished something. The second is whether their last project paid back the people who funded it. The third is what they say about their QS when they think the meeting is over.
Note · 013 · April 2026 Ray Auna · 8 min
Residual stock is the cleanest deal in our book.
A bit counter-intuitive: finished, untenanted apartments — the asset class that most private credit funds avoid — are the most under-priced risk we see in NZ property credit right now.
Note · 012 · March 2026 Jay Abraham · 4 min
The OCR is not the bank rate.
Our floating-rate facilities don't move one-for-one with the OCR. Here's why, and what that actually means for the realised yield on your distribution.
Note · 011 · February 2026 Jay & Ray · 5 min
What a Cayman feeder actually does.
For US, Singapore and Hong Kong investors looking at their first NZ-domiciled credit fund: a short walk-through of why the feeder exists, what it costs you, and what it actually does for your tax position.
Note · 010 · January 2026 Ray Auna · 7 min
How to read a QS report.
The quantity surveyor's report is the most important document in our credit file. Most people skim the cost-to-complete and the contingency. We read it back-to-front, starting with the prelims.
Note · 009 · November 2025 Jay Abraham · 5 min
ASIC's private credit report, read by a private credit manager.
Six things ASIC asked the market to do better. Five we were already doing. One we changed the week the report came out.
Note · 008 · September 2025 Ray Auna · 6 min
Pre-sales aren't pre-sales.
A qualifying pre-sale has to clear five tests. Two of them are about the buyer, three are about the contract. We've walked away from facilities where the headline pre-sale number was 70% — and the qualifying number was 18%.
Note · 007 · July 2025 Jay & Ray · 5 min
The case for a NZD allocation in 2026.
For Australian and Singaporean wholesale investors with hedged exposure to AU credit and USD private debt: a short argument for a 3–7% NZD allocation, written before the FX cycle moved.
Note · 006 · May 2025 Jay Abraham · 4 min
The two facilities we resolved by enforcement.
No manager wants to write this piece. Both loans returned investor capital in full. Both reasons we ended up enforcing were visible at origination, looking back. We rewrote the credit policy after the second one.