Private credit is growing rapidly in Australia. Understanding how managers actually operate may matter more than the yield itself.
In this episode of the Australian Investors Podcast, Mitchell sits down with Nicole Kidd, CEO of Corval Avenue, to unpack how investors should evaluate real estate private credit managers. As private credit continues to attract capital with double-digit yields, Nicole explains why the manager is effectively part of the asset — and how weak governance, conflicted incentives, or poor reporting can turn an attractive investment into a multi-year workout. The conversation provides a practical framework investors can use to separate disciplined credit operators from opportunistic deal shops.
Together they discuss:
- The idea that in private credit the manager is part of the asset, with vastly different outcomes possible on identical deals
- Weak credit governance as the first major red flag and the role of independent credit committees in serious firms
- Short track records and perfect returns as potential signs of cherry-picked performance or untested managers
- Misaligned incentives and fee structures that quietly shift returns away from investors
- Conflicts across the capital stack when managers operate as lenders, brokers or equity participants
- Transparent reporting and honest default disclosure as signals of a disciplined credit operation
- Green flags of strong managers, including co-investment, institutional processes and operational depth
