With a view toward expansion into the Victorian and South Australian markets, Trilogy Funds Management has announced the opening of its Melbourne offices. The Melbourne office will be exclusively dedicated to the southern markets of Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.
Trilogy executive chairman Rodger Bacon said the decision to launch an office dedicated to the southern markets was prompted by the interest shown in Trilogy’s recently released split mortgage trust.
“We see this as the first step toward the expansion of Trilogy’s mortgage lending area. The Trilogy First Mortgage Income Fund comprises a portfolio of registered first mortgages only. With a unique structure that separates the cash compound from the mortgage pool as well as capital loss insurance, interest and inflows from Victorian advisers has been strong”, he said.
According to Bacon, the restructure was necessary after acknowledging the value of having a base in the market Trilogy wants to penetrate.
“Up to now our principal focus has been the NSW and Queensland markets. Now that we are looking to the south, we realise that to achieve better results you need local people who understand the local culture and ways”, Bacon said.
“Because there is a difference; for example, the Melbourne environment has an emphasis on knowing the people you’re dealing with and having the usual respect for those people, whereas in Sydney it’s admittedly a little more mechanical.
“And of course, by having a base in Melbourne to service the southern market, you get face-to-face contact, which is more powerful in relationship building”, he added.
John Archer will head the Melbourne office as the new head of distribution for the southern region.
