Axiom returns to industry fray
The nameAxiom has returned to funds management in Australia, this time in the guise of a boutique property manager based in Melbourne.
A group of former AXA mortgage specialists have registered the name for the new operation, which will specialise in property syndicates.
The new owners of Axiom are Credit Management Australia and Wincam Property.
The original Axiom, the funds management arm of the NSW Government’s super fund, disappeared in 1997 when Deutsche bought out the manager for $240 million. The original Axiom had $19 billion of funds under management when sold.
Deutsche let the name lapse and it was available when managing director John La Marca was seeking a name for the new joint venture.
La Marca was formerly the chief manager of credit at AXA Asset Management and is joined by Peter Ward as operations director and Craig Dres, both formerly at AXA.
“Axiom will be a property syndicator and the first syndicate is expected to be launched in the new financial year,” La Marca says.
“We are currently working on obtaining our financial services licence with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.”
The first syndicate will be a commercial/retail offering, with the emphasis on quality properties with blue-chip tenants.
La Marca sees MCS, which dominates the property syndicate market with over $1 billion of funds under management, as its biggest competitor, but says the Axiom management team’s mortgage and property experience gained at AXA will give them a competitive edge.
“We saw an opportunity to bring better fundamentals to property syndication,” he says.
“A lot of syndicates have focused on the initial yield, rather than the quality of tenants and strong lease covenants.”
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