At an exclusive investor luncheon co-hosted by Zagga and JAR Wealth Management Singapore, guests gathered to explore the intersection of global portfolio positioning, macroeconomic outlook, and the growing opportunity in Australian private credit.
Australia’s Private Credit Advantage
Opening the discussion, Tom Cranfield, Executive Director, Risk & Execution at Zagga, set the scene with an update on Australia’s property and credit markets.
Now in its ninth year with a $1.4 billion loan book, Zagga continues to see opportunity in Sydney — its deepest and most resilient market — where housing completions remain roughly 20% below the long-term average and population growth continues to accelerate. Stabilising construction costs, renewed builder profitability, and labour returning to the sector are all supporting conditions for future supply.
Cranfield noted that this persistent supply-demand imbalance creates a favourable environment for Zagga’s strategy: focusing on senior-secured, build-to-sell residential projects of fewer than 100 units in high-amenity, transport-linked locations.
“Our focus remains simple – to be consistent, safe, and stable; returning investors’ capital over and over again through disciplined origination and asset selection,” Cranfield said.
He also highlighted Zagga’s continued growth momentum, with record quarterly investment activity and strong inflows into its open-ended funds – all underpinned by transparency, integrity, and diversification across more than 80 loans in its feeder fund portfolio.
Global Perspectives on Allocation and Opportunity
Following Cranfield’s overview, Tim Walter, CEO of JAR Wealth Management Singapore, provided context on how global families and institutions are positioning portfolios amid an increasingly fragmented economic environment. With offices across Switzerland, Monaco, Dubai, and Singapore, JAR manages capital for ultra-high-net-worth individuals, single-family offices, and institutional investors spanning Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific.
Walter outlined how clients are adapting to lower-for-longer interest rates, persistent inflation differentials, and diverging regional growth paths, before handing over to Karol Bonati, JAR’s Chief Investment Officer Asia, to share the firm’s latest global allocation views.
Bonati described a tactical approach to portfolio construction, favouring US Treasuries as a preferred expression of the rate view, maintaining defensive equity exposure given stretched valuations, and using precious metals as partial hedges against fiscal and currency pressures. China, he noted, remains a bright spot, supported by domestic demand and policy reform, while Europe continues to face structural headwinds.
JAR’s balanced reference portfolio currently allocates 25% to sovereign bonds, 25% to defensive equities, 15% to multi-strategy hedge funds, 10% to private credit, and modest exposure to commodities and cash.
Renewed emphasis was placed on private credit, which Bonati described as “the right mix of conservatism and consistency”, citing Zagga as the only private credit fund currently included in JAR’s portfolios.
A Shared View on Stability and Scalability
Across both presentations, a shared philosophy emerged: in an era of compressed spreads and global uncertainty, stability, discipline, and diversification matter more than ever.
For JAR’s global client base, the appeal lies in resilient, income-generating assets that preserve capital while offering scalability. For Zagga, Australia’s economic resilience and institutional-grade private credit market continue to provide precisely that – a defensive, scalable opportunity in an otherwise volatile world.
Together, the session underscored the strength of alignment between global allocators seeking stability and Australian private credit managers positioned to deliver it.
