The Merx Wholesale 1 PIE Trust is managed by experienced investors with a trained eye for identifying lending opportunities, backed by solid plans.

In our series introducing the experts behind the fund, we talked with Garrick Wynne about his own journey as an investor, the lessons he’s learned, and how these have helped shape the Merx Wholesale 1 PIE Trust.

An investor’s journey, with Garrick Wynne.

Goals

Garrick’s foray into finance began in the mid-2000s, working for a property finance company. Then, the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 hit, and when the company he was working at closed down, Garrick chose to pursue another avenue.

In 2009, he bought into a lending business, providing funding to small businesses needing cashflow. Alongside this new venture, Garrick also started getting involved in property investment, as well as trading derivatives and investing in custodial portfolios, managed by the likes of Craigs Investment Partners and overseas investment banks like Credit Suisse.

“My primary goal at the time was to make a living, generate cashflow to pay my mortgage and cover day-to-day expenses. However, none of those investment opportunities gave me direct control over my investments, like I have now in lending with Merx,” Garrick says.

Managing and investing in the Merx Wholesale 1 PIE Trust gives him the opportunity to achieve another key goal: getting a higher return without taking overt risk. “This is a bit of a conundrum in the financial world, because risk and reward are often seen as a straight-line path: the riskier the opportunity, the higher the reward should be. But maximising returns without taking undue risk is actually achievable, if you’re doing the right thing and taking the right approach to credit.”

Lending (and investing) with the right approach

For Garrick, investing in loans to businesses and property developers is all about due diligence, with extensive expertise to support it.

“If you take the time to assess the opportunity and structure the loan correctly, then you can enjoy the fruits of that once that deal has matured,” Garrick says.

“It just boils down to the question: ‘Can I back that the outcome will be a positive one?” An experienced lender is able to see through numbers, valuations, business accounts and models, to understand the commercial realities of any transaction. Having been involved in business lending for over 15 years, I can quickly get a sense of whether or not a funding application is backed by a sound plan, and everything stacks up.”

Gaining this level of insight hasn’t been without challenges. In the beginning, Garrick had to learn to sit back and avoid taking on deals just for the potential of a return. Creating income was the goal, but he needed to let the ‘credit hat’ be the backstop for all decision-making.

Since then, the learning process hasn’t stopped. “The latter part of my investing and lending journey has really been around understanding market cycles, and how they influence businesses, valuations, and overall market dynamics,” says Garrick. “This has taught me to project beyond the current financial indicators, enabling a forecast at 12 months or even further. Staying slightly ahead of the curve and keeping an eye on signals coming from the economy, helps us identify projects with positive momentum – which is what we want to focus on.”

Key lessons that shaped the Wholesale 1 PIE Trust

Merx management’s personal experiences as investors have informed how the Wholesale 1 PIE Trust was set up. And if Garrick has to name one key lesson that shaped the fund, he has no hesitation: the importance of preserving capital.

“While chasing lucrative returns is alluring, ensuring that the initial investment is preserved is crucial. If you started with a million dollars and lost $350,000, you’d need to make a 50% return to get back to where you were. That’s why capital preservation drives all my investment decision-making,” says Garrick.

The second principle is maximised returns: “Aiming for a higher than 9-10% return is what generates growth in capital and provides income. So, with the Merx Wholesale 1 PIE Trust, we’re looking for lending opportunities that allow us to mitigate risk, but also maximise returns.”

Merx finds those opportunities outside of traditional lending criteria.

“Often, these circumstances don’t fit into the banks’ strict lending mould. But these are sectors that need funding, have solid business models, and can provide robust returns. With the right approach, expertise, and due diligence, we’re able to identify sound projects and free up their untapped potential for all investors involved – including us.”

Like to become part of this journey?

The Wholesale 1 PIE Trust is a reflection of the management team’s own journey and personal commitment. If you’d like to become part of this journey, click here to learn more and give us a call on 09 215 9364 to discuss further. We look forward to hearing from you.

Note: This article is intended to provide general information and does not constitute financial advice. We recommend you speak with a financial adviser for advice tailored to your individual circumstances. Potential investors with Merx must qualify as Wholesale Investors as that term is defined in sections 3(2)(a) – (c) or 3(3)(a) of Schedule 1 of the Financial Markets Conduct Act (“FMCA”). The Trust is not suitable for retail investors.