La Trobe’s P2P offering receives ‘superior’ rating

The non-bank lender’s P2P option in the La Trobe Australian Credit Fund received a “Superior 4 Star” rating in a report released by the research company.

SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher said the fund had outperformed its peer group and SQM’s comparative benchmark in rolling returns for one year, three years and since its inception.

“The fund’s three-year rolling return was 8.4 per cent, compared to the benchmark’s and peer group’s [at] 5.6 per cent and 7.6 per cent respectively,” he said.

“SQM Research believes that the highly-resourced and skilled team in place at La Trobe Financial Group, the fund’s track record (in particular during the GFC), as well as La Trobe Financial Group’s financial and historical strength in the lite-documentation space should allow the fund to continue to provide investors with strong risk-adjusted returns.”

Martin Barry, chief wealth management officer at La Trobe Financial, said the lender welcomed SQM’s rating and external validation of its approach.

“Like any fund, the performance of the P2P [investment option] is driven by the quality of its assets,” Mr Barry said.

“All are subject to a rigorous credit assessment and none has a loan to value ratio higher than 75 per cent.”

La Trobe’s chief investment officer, Chris Andrews, said the group’s P2P offering was the largest and most robust P2P investment portfolio in Australia.

“For investors looking for capital stable investments, this is a genuine P2P investment option that allows greater control, choice and diversification in their portfolio,” he said.

La Trobe’s P2P offering matches investors with individual borrowers for mortgage-secured loans from as little as $1,000.

[Related: Investors seeking ‘sturdy’ mortgage trusts]