- Family Offices and High Net Worth investors attracted to high returns and underlying properties
- 76% of investors plan to increase their private property credit investment, more than half by 10-25%
- Rivkin Private Wealth increased its private credit exposure to $400m, up to 30% increase y-o-y
- Rivkin reduces exposure to equity markets in favour of private credit
The appetite of Australia’s wealthiest people to invest in private real estate credit is growing with a new report revealing many family offices and ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals plan to boost their investment in the sector.
This is a key finding of the inaugural 2025 Centuria Bass Private Real Estate Credit Index, which surveyed more than 100 Centuria Bass Credit (CBC) investors, most of whom comprise family offices and UHNW/HNW individuals.
In a strong vote of confidence, 76% of respondents said they will increase their private real estate credit investments over the next year. More than half of the respondents confirmed they are likely to increase their investment in private real estate credit by 10% to 25% in the coming 12 months. When citing reasons for investing in private credit, most (54%) are attracted to the returns while 26% are attracted to the security.
According to the research, most investors in this space are prolific with multiple investments across different credit managers.
The investment sweet spot is between $250,000 to $500,000 with 42% saying it was their preferred investment size for each opportunity.
Yehuda Gottlieb, Managing Director – Funds and Distribution at Centuria Bass, said family offices and UHNW/HNW individuals have supported private real estate credit for many years, attracted to the high returns and the fact their investment is underpinned by property.
“Generally, the family office money is the smarter money because their capital can influence lending decisions. Being private also means family offices are not swayed by public markets and short-term thinking. Because it’s a family investment, often these investors take a long-term view and see through market variability. There is often a more personalised approach, too, meaning a family office may invest initially because they are attracted to the underlying property,” Mr Gottlieb said.
Encouraged by the financial returns and security, Rivkin Private Wealth, one of Australia’s leading wealth managers, has steadily increased its investment in private real estate credit over the past four years and now has $400 million invested in the sector.
Private credit now represents approximately 30% of Rivkin’s assets under management, with a larger focus on alternative investments.
Thomas Silitonga, Managing Director of Rivkin Private Wealth, says it has reduced exposure in equities and allocated more capital to alternative asset classes, in particular private credit, half of which is real estate debt.
Rivkin’s private real estate credit allocation has increased by up to 30% each year, a significant proportion invested with Centuria Bass.
Mr Silitonga said, “Capital preservation is a top priority for Rivkin investors and one of the key factors that resonates with them is knowing their investment is backed by property—especially since many have built their wealth through real estate.
“They’re not looking to shoot for the stars or to take unmitigated risk. Our investors expect a thorough due diligence process that ensures rigorous asset selection and structuring, protecting capital while enhancing income potential across varying market conditions.”
Rivkin’s origins are in equities, but since the formation of Rivkin Private Wealth in 2014, the firm has also invested directly in real estate, accumulating significant commercial holdings throughout Sydney’s eastern suburbs over the years.
“We decided to create our own private wealth business with the family being the largest investor and run like a family office where investors could invest alongside the family. We gravitate towards key partners like Centuria Bass who are dedicated to investors and maintain the highest degree of professionalism. We think we have quite healthy diversification with Centuria Bass. We like that most loans are invested through their syndicated loan pool and the fund is only taking a small slice of each one,” Mr Silitonga said.
Risk management is a major part of investing and Mr Silitonga says it’s crucial to ensure its capital is with a manager that is not prepared to go up the risk curve to chase deals. He added, “There’s a lot of competition in the sector with some prepared to increase risk. However, managers that are prepared to be patient and hold more cash for the right opportunities is where we are looking to align ourselves.”
Centuria Bass was founded in 2016 and has delivered compelling returns on secured private credit loans since inception with no losses of principal on any of its 160+ investments.
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