From scoring three-pointers at the University of San Diego to leading major real estate credit strategies as Director at Centuria Bass Credit, Izzy Chilcott's journey demonstrates how elite sporting mindsets create exceptional business outcomes.
Izzy's basketball career took her from the Gold Coast to college basketball in the U.S.A, then through a decade in Australia's WNBL, culminating in a championship with the Melbourne Boomers in 2022 – her final professional game. Unlike many athletes, Izzy maintained a parallel finance career throughout, providing a seamless transition when she hung up her basketball shoes. This dual-career approach, while challenging, built exceptional resilience, discipline, and adaptability - qualities that now underpin her success in finance.
At Centuria Bass Credit, Izzy leads a team providing non-bank lending solutions for commercial real estate developers. Her funds offer something traditional banks can't – speed and flexibility worth paying premium rates for.
The parallels between basketball and finance are striking – teamwork, performing under pressure, and maintaining high standards translate directly between court and boardroom.
Follow Izzy Chilcott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/izzy-chilcott-abb8a3157/?originalSubdomain=au
Visit the Centuria Bass Credit website: https://www.centuriabass.com.au/
Enjoyed the episode? Follow Finance Friends Podcast on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok for daily updates and more inspiring conversations. Got questions or ideas for future episodes? Send us a DM @financefriendspodcast!
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:01):
Chill cotton the left chill cut the left hand
finishes good chill cutunderneath strong move that's a
three on three move threepointers going she's got more
three-pointers in a collegescreen than Steph Curry and
(00:22):
Chilcott with the two Welcomeback to Finance Friends, your
personal seat at the table withleaders shaping the financial
world in this exclusive seasonin the high-profile, incredibly
successful athletes who achievethe greatest heights on the
(00:43):
sports field and are nowdominating the finance world.
Today on Finance FriendsPodcast, we're excited to
welcome someone who has achievedexcellence in not just one, but
two highly competitive arenas.
Izzy Chilcott.
Before stepping into the worldof funds management, Izzy carved
out an impressive career on thebasketball court.
(01:05):
She played college basketball inthe United States at the
University of San Diego beforereturning home to Australia,
where she competed in the WNBLfor a decade across multiple
teams.
Now Izzy is the director andfund manager at Centuria Bass
Credit, who are a leader in realestate credit, managing$2.3
(01:28):
billion.
Her journey is a true testamentto discipline, adaptability, and
dedication.
We're thrilled to have Izzy onthe podcast sharing her story.
Hi, Izzy.
Welcome to the Finance FriendsPodcast.
How are you today?
SPEAKER_02 (01:43):
Good thanks, Fabian.
Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (01:45):
Well, thanks for coming in.
Um I've never met a professionalbasketball player before.
So are you still playing?
SPEAKER_02 (01:54):
Uh no, no, I'm a I'm a washed-up professional
basketball player now.
So those dreams are are longgone.
SPEAKER_00 (02:00):
Yeah, well, you've achieved those dreams, haven't
you?
SPEAKER_02 (02:03):
Uh yes, yes.
I'm very proud of uh what I'vewhat I've achieved in on
reflection, but um now just uhenjoying golf when I can and uh
running and all the otherhobbies that I didn't have time
for when I was playing sport.
SPEAKER_00 (02:18):
Yeah, well I'd imagine with your current uh
work position and also youmentioned you've got a young
one, probably don't have a lotof time to throw the ball
around.
SPEAKER_02 (02:27):
Time is time is limited, but um I've uh over a
lot of all the years I wasplaying professional basketball,
I was I was working as well, soI um am very used to time
management and and uh doing alot with not much.
So I'm uh just focusing on workand and getting getting out
there for my hobbies whenever Ican.
SPEAKER_00 (02:49):
Yep.
So you basketball, was it sinceyou were really young?
Did you play multiple sports andthen were just good at
basketball or a little bit.
SPEAKER_02 (02:59):
Um I've got two older brothers, so it's the the
uh the classic story of justwanting to do whatever they do.
I grew up on the Gold Coast Umand was very much into a lot of
sports, anything that mybrothers did.
Um, my family are all um avidsurfers.
Um my mum actually started asurf school, so um I grew up
(03:21):
surfing and playing a lot ofbasketball.
Um, but I kind of got to the endof end of high school and um was
a little bit of a fork in theroad whether I wanted to keep
competitive surfing or or godown playing um basketball a
little bit more seriously, butum getting a college or
university education was alwaysvery important to me and always
(03:44):
something I wanted to do.
And I got the opportunity to goplay um basketball in the in the
States at a at a college, so Igot a US scholarship, um, so to
type, decide to go down thatroute.
SPEAKER_00 (03:54):
Wow, which university did you end up at?
SPEAKER_02 (03:56):
Uh University of San Diego.
Um, like I said, I grew up onthe Gold Coast, so I choose
chose a school that was uh in alocation as similar to the Gold
Coast as I could find.
SPEAKER_00 (04:05):
Um San Diego's in California, is that right?
South of LA.
SPEAKER_02 (04:09):
Yeah, yeah.
Yep, yep, just on the borderbetween uh California and
Mexico.
So yeah, it was a great, greatexperience.
Loved it.
Very thankful that I got toexperience that.
SPEAKER_00 (04:19):
Because college sport in the US is insane.
SPEAKER_02 (04:24):
Yeah, it's huge.
SPEAKER_00 (04:25):
It's almost bigger than the professional league
because the alumni that all wentto that university are just
still so in tune to the sport.
SPEAKER_02 (04:34):
Yeah, it's yeah, like you said, it's it's bigger
than professional sport in inAustralia.
You know, the amount of money,viewership, I mean, America's
just you know, supersized oneverything, but college sport is
huge.
And to be a part of that wasvery cool, especially coming
from you know the Gold Coastwhere you know there wasn't the
Suns had just I think theystarted after I went to college,
(04:56):
so we didn't have a professionalsports team on the Gold Coast.
So to get over there was verycool.
SPEAKER_00 (05:00):
Yeah, because the Gold Coasters struggled with
professional sports team likethe A-League team, yeah, dropped
off, I think the rugby leagueteam.
SPEAKER_02 (05:08):
Yeah, they're still the Titans.
SPEAKER_00 (05:11):
Yeah, they've struggled.
SPEAKER_02 (05:12):
There was a MBL, a basketball team, men's
basketball team that's come andgone, and um yeah, it hasn't
been a huge success success, anyprofessional sports in the Gold
Coast.
SPEAKER_00 (05:22):
So I'm keen to know how many people or how many
women on the roster, as theywould say in the US, or I don't
know if they ref they say thatNFL, but um at the university,
was there like three teams orwas there 15 or 18 players that
made up the well I guess fivethat played regularly?
SPEAKER_02 (05:42):
Um so at our school there's just one, usually one
team for every sport at theuniversity.
Um there was I think there was12 or 14 on our um on our team.
Usually there's about 12 fullscholarships, and then maybe a
couple, they call them walk-ons,which are just people that go to
the school and try out for theteam or training players.
(06:04):
Um we also had practice players,which were typically boys that
went to the school that wantedto get a run out there with us.
So um, yeah, there was on onmost basketball teams you kind
of capped at 12, 12 kind ofsuiting up and and playing.
SPEAKER_00 (06:19):
Yep.
So can you share some insightinto what it was like being a
college basketballer?
So what's your schedule?
SPEAKER_02 (06:27):
Yeah, I mean, it was kind of pretty full on.
Um, you know, like university atany, you know, at any level or
any country, you got a fullfull-time course load, and then
we're training kind of every wemight have one day off a week,
and then you're training kind ofthree hours on court, a couple
hours in the gym.
(06:47):
Yeah, it's pretty intensive.
SPEAKER_00 (06:49):
Um and traveling as well.
Traveling, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (06:51):
There was there was a lot of traveling games all
over the the country.
So I like to say I've you knowspent four and a half years
living in the States.
I've seen a lot of basketballstadions and hotel rooms.
I haven't haven't seen a lot ofyou know outside of that.
But um, no, like I said, it wasa great experience and glad to
really glad that I got to do it.
SPEAKER_00 (07:10):
Yep.
And were you a regular in theteam or was it quite challenging
to get a spot?
SPEAKER_02 (07:15):
No, I mean I um I was a starter and I had a pretty
successful um career there.
Um, you know, like any any uhany athlete or any basketball
player knows you have your upsand downs in terms of court time
and um different things, butkind of that kind of just goes
hand in hand with with playingbasketball and but no, it was it
(07:38):
was a good, it was very good.
SPEAKER_00 (07:40):
So what advice would you give to a young Yeezy that's
just going over to San Diego toplay basketball on a
scholarship?
SPEAKER_02 (07:47):
Uh I mean I think just enjoy it.
Um I was pretty, you know, somepeople go over there and um, you
know, really enjoy it, partyhard and different things like
that.
I was pretty focused.
I've always been pretty umpretty focused and you know
education was really importantto me.
So I I studied hard and I and Itrained hard.
I didn't have a lot of time fortoo much else.
(08:09):
But um, I mean, I think I'm veryhappy with the experience I had
and um I think just I wouldn'tchange anything.
SPEAKER_00 (08:16):
Yeah.
And to be like to continue thescholarship, do you need to like
pass your subjects?
Is there a certain grade youneed to get, or is that
university dependent?
SPEAKER_02 (08:24):
Yeah, you have to have a certain GPA to qualify to
play, but um it's it's it wasn'toverly, you know, it was like
basically had to class pass atleast three of your subjects or
something to to qualify.
It wasn't really uh, you know,you if you weren't showing up to
class, you couldn't qualify, butyeah, that was that was it.
SPEAKER_00 (08:43):
That was it.
Yeah.
And were there other sportsteams that you sort of connected
with and was it common that thesports players of the university
would hang out together?
SPEAKER_02 (08:54):
Yeah, we uh there was a lot of different sports.
Um my school had kind ofeverything football, volleyball,
track, golf, you know, all theall the sports like a lot of the
schools do.
And um, yeah, there was a lot ofcommingling am amongst the
athletes.
Um so yeah, I met a lot ofpeople and it was it was great.
SPEAKER_00 (09:14):
Yeah, so what did you study at university?
SPEAKER_02 (09:17):
Uh finance.
Well, they call it over therebusiness administration, but
majoring in finance.
SPEAKER_00 (09:21):
Yeah.
And what made you choosefinance?
SPEAKER_02 (09:24):
Um I think I kind of have a uh a bit of an objective
personality.
I I um math, I I was a lotstronger at math than I was at
English, just you know, the theblack and white nature of it.
So um finance was kind of italways appealed to me and um I
kind of fell into it and it justthat's how it happened.
SPEAKER_00 (09:49):
Yeah.
So then you finished yourfour-year course, was it?
Yep.
Yeah.
So then can you share what whatyour experience was after that
four-year period?
SPEAKER_02 (09:57):
So I came back to Australia and um started playing
professional basketball inAustralia.
So in the WMBL, the Women'sNational Basketball League.
Um, I played for a number ofdifferent teams um in the WMBL
in in Brisbane and Perth andfinished my career in Melbourne
over a time frame of about 10years.
(10:18):
Um did that.
Um I was in an interestingposition while I was playing
professional sport.
It was women's professionalsport, so um there wasn't, you
know, the pay wasn't reallysustainable to to both to even
though it was a a full-timecommitment, it wasn't
necessarily a full-time wage.
(10:40):
So um I was working throughoutthroughout that period as well.
SPEAKER_00 (10:44):
Which is obviously extremely challenging.
Did you have like how were thebusinesses that you worked for,
they obviously understood yourcommitment to sport and were
quite flexible?
SPEAKER_02 (10:56):
Yeah, I had some great employers during that time
that um enabled me to be able tojuggle both both sport and and
work career.
Um I think during the the time Iwas very um critical of myself,
you know, that while I was I wasdoing both and able to juggle
(11:17):
both, I never felt like I wasexcelling or being the best
version or being the best that Icould at at either, which was
hard, but in reflection, I'm youknow I'm really proud of what I
was out able to achieve both,you know, in my sporting career
and um where my career's takenme to this point.
SPEAKER_00 (11:35):
So what's been the highlight of your sporting
career?
SPEAKER_02 (11:38):
Um I think one was the the opportunity to go play
in college, not probably notathletically, but in terms of
experience and something I'mgrateful for.
SPEAKER_00 (11:46):
I really have experience as well.
SPEAKER_02 (11:48):
Exactly.
Um sporting career.
Um I the last game I actuallyplayed was um with the Melbourne
Boomers, the grand final, theWNBL, which which we won, which
was a very congratulations.
Thank you.
That was a couple of years ago.
SPEAKER_00 (12:02):
22 or 20 years.
SPEAKER_02 (12:04):
22.
Um, so just to go out, you know,my last game ever being a grand
final, which we won, was a veryspecial moment.
SPEAKER_00 (12:10):
Did you know that at the time this was going to be
your last game?
SPEAKER_02 (12:12):
Yeah, uh, I knew the whole season this was gonna be
my last um hurrah, but I kind ofjoked they had to carry me off
the court to to make sure Ididn't come back.
But uh no, it was a it was youknow a really surreal moment and
you know a great way to finish.
SPEAKER_00 (12:26):
Yeah, and I guess it's it's probably because you'd
been working throughout thatperiod, it's less, it's it's a
lot would you say it's a loteasier to transition.
SPEAKER_02 (12:36):
Definitely the adjustment I you know I didn't
finish and try and have to findmy um you know my passion in
terms of what I wanted to doafter sport.
Um, so that was a lot, I guess,of a softer transition.
But that being said, I stillreally did struggle post
post-sport, you know, the theroutine and the competitive
outlet and all those things thatyou know embedded or what you've
(12:58):
been doing for you know, it wasclose to 20 years.
My whole yeah, exactly.
Um, kind of comes to a verysharp stop.
And um, so it was a hugeadjustment, but I was just lucky
enough that I was already, youknow, progressed in my career.
I knew what I wanted, you know,I was already in a career, I
wasn't trying to find myselfoutside of sport.
(13:19):
Um, so I was lucky in thataspect, but I can very much
sympathize with those that areplay sport for however many
years and just finish and thentrying to find what their what
their where their passion liesafter that.
It's uh it's hard.
SPEAKER_00 (13:34):
What's next?
Yeah.
And so let's go talk about yourcareer, your maybe share your
current role and and what you doat the moment and who you work
for.
SPEAKER_02 (13:42):
Yep.
Um, I'm a director and fundmanager for a company called St.
Juria Bass Credit.
So what we are is we're anon-bank lender for commercial
real estate.
SPEAKER_00 (13:52):
Okay, so let's break that down.
We say non-bank lender, becausemaybe some of our audience don't
know what a non-bank lender is.
Can you?
SPEAKER_02 (13:59):
Yeah, sure.
So um what we do is we provideloans to developers or borrowers
um for the purpose of purchasingor developing commercial real
estate.
Typically it's, you know, forlarge-scale land subdivisions or
um a block of apartments.
That's what I mean by commercialreal estate.
(14:20):
How we uh get those funds toprovide to the borrowers is we
raise funds, capital from highnet worth or ultra-high net
worth individuals.
Um, then we on land that to theborrowers, we charge borrowers
interest rates and fees, whichwe then pass back to investors
in the way of an incomedistribution.
unknown (14:40):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (14:40):
So essentially we act like a bank, but um, instead
of playing with you know thebank's money, we're um raising
funds from individuals.
SPEAKER_00 (14:50):
Yeah, because I think the definition of a a bank
is a deposit-taking institution.
So you can have a bank accountat Westpac and then they'll use
that money to to on lend.
Exactly.
So you raise the capital frominvestors.
That's right.
Yeah.
So why would a developer go toyou or why, you know, for for
funding when they maybe can goto a bank?
SPEAKER_02 (15:10):
It's a great question.
Um, there's no secret that weare more expensive than a bank.
So I think um that's the firstthing people typically ask.
But what we're able to do isprovide really fast and flexible
um terms to our borrowers.
So our borrowers are umdevelopers, might have one, two,
multiple projects.
(15:31):
Um, so they're willing to pay apremium to get um certainty of
that capital of those funds inum a shorter term time frame
than a bank would be able toprovide it to them.
Um also banks, because theirdeposit, you know, their their
money comes from everyday umdeposits from from um you know
(15:53):
people with bank accounts.
There's very stringent rules onthe types of loans they can
provide um to borrowers.
Exactly.
So we're able to be a lot moreflexible.
Um, we're able to tailor our um,you know, lending solutions to
those borrowers that that reallyfits and and helps those
borrowers um be able to achievetheir goals.
(16:14):
And we work with those borrowersto be able to do that.
SPEAKER_00 (16:17):
So in terms of your role, are you you obviously need
to assess the risk of thedevelopment and and what are the
the things that couldpotentially go wrong?
SPEAKER_02 (16:26):
So I'm a fund manager.
I kind of sit in between boththe deal origination team that
assess each of the loans, theborrowers and manage those
loans, and then the distributionteam that uh raises the capital.
Um I manage, we have um twopooled diversified funds, about
$700 million worth ofdiscretionary capital, which we
(16:48):
manage for investors.
So I manage those pooled funds,um, the daily, the day-to-day
operations of those funds, um,and really just ensuring the
best outcome for those investorswithin that fund.
So um I'm a bit of a you wouldsay generalist in, you know, we
have over 500 investors in thesefunds and we have over 60
(17:09):
assets.
I kind of need to be across allof that to make sure we're
managing um the best outcomesfor those investors.
SPEAKER_00 (17:16):
So if you were to to invest in your fund, what are
some things you need to bemindful of?
Obviously, you mentioned a highreturn.
Can you share some insightaround what what is the like
average return that an investorwould normally receive for the
pooled investment fund?
SPEAKER_02 (17:33):
So um we have a type of couple of different
investment options.
One of our funds is just purelyfirst mortgage.
So um we hold security over theunderlying property asset if
things were to go um if therewas a default or we had to step
in and and um take control ofthat asset asset, we have the
the downside protection of beingable to sell that asset or that
(17:55):
um piece of land for the theunderlying value.
Um but you know, this this orthis investment is not
risk-free.
Um, you know, it's subject tothe value in which you can
abstract from that that piece ofthat asset, that piece of land.
Um so we can only um recover tothe extent to which what's
available to recover of thevalue of that that um real
(18:19):
estate.
So um typically the the returnon a first mortgage is uh
between six and ten percent,depending on the the the asset.
SPEAKER_00 (18:30):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (18:31):
Um and then we have another fund that has first and
second mortgage exposure.
So second mortgage is just thesubordinated after that that
first mortgage um sits behindthe the first mortgage in in
terms of priority and repayment.
Um and you can uh expect a bithigher premium for for that type
of um uh investment because it'sup the up the risk curve, say
(18:54):
eight to twelve percent.
SPEAKER_00 (18:55):
And obviously that return will depend on where the
RBA cash rate is as well.
SPEAKER_02 (18:59):
Yeah, yeah.
It's um typically linked all ourloans to our borrowers are
linked um cash rate plus amargin.
So we think of um firstmortgage, it's typically kind of
RBA cash rate plus four to five,and then anything behind that
second mortgage is you'd say sixsix to eight type of range.
(19:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (19:20):
So how do you keep on top of all the assets?
SPEAKER_02 (19:23):
Um, I mean, it's not there's we have a big team at
Centuria Bass and some really umsome really high quality um
individuals that that managethese these loans and have
extensive experience both ummanaging and and originating.
So um it's a team effort, but umbeing across each each deal and
(19:46):
early intervention and and earlymanagement of a of a loan when
when it needs it is um is reallykey to to being able to um
recover um capital but alsoextract as much value out of out
of the out of the loan and andasset.
SPEAKER_00 (20:02):
Yeah, and obviously you may share some synergies
that you've learned from playingbasketball, both professionally
but also at college, that'shelped you in your career today.
SPEAKER_02 (20:13):
Yeah, I mean I think there are so many attributes um
that sport teaches people in aprofessional um capacity, you
know, playing sport at anylevel.
And the the the easy ones are,you know, uh teamwork, um
resilience, um time timemanagement.
(20:34):
Time management, absolutely, umperforming under pressure.
Um something that resonatesmostly with me is just being
able to expect the most frommyself and expect expect a
really high quality of umexpecting a really high quality
from myself not only from myselfbut my um my teammates or my
colleagues.
Yeah, you know, that's that'sreally important.
(20:55):
I think finance off obviously iscan be a very high pressure
environment, environment, andplaying professional sports,
that's an environment I'm I'mcomfortable in.
And um yeah, there's been a lotof a lot of times where I think
my background has held me ingood stead to in my professional
career.
SPEAKER_00 (21:13):
Yeah, and do you are you still involved in the
basketball in basketball today?
SPEAKER_02 (21:16):
No, besides being a um a uh a watcher or an enjoyer
of the sport, I'm not I'm notinvolved.
SPEAKER_00 (21:23):
Yeah.
Do you um do you see yourselfgetting back into the basketball
world or is that door closed?
SPEAKER_02 (21:31):
I think I think that that door's closed for me.
Um I'm happy just to be aspectator and a and a and a um
fan of the sport.
SPEAKER_00 (21:39):
Yeah, and the sport seems to be growing globally.
SPEAKER_02 (21:44):
Yeah, yeah, especially the women's side of
the game.
Um, I don't know how familiarare you are with some of the
players in the US, Caitlin Clarkand the Caitlin Clark effect,
but um, you know, the the gamehas grown so much over in the
States, and hopefully thattranslates to you know
viewership in Australia.
It's it's always um been a bitpuzzling for me.
(22:06):
Um Australia in terms of our ourwomen's national team has kind
of been top two or three rankedin you know globally for for
years and years.
Um we have a really strongnational competition, the WMBL,
but we've always just lacked theum the viewership, the
(22:27):
sponsorship, the the investmentthat um you know you would you
would expect for such a highquality product.
SPEAKER_00 (22:35):
Is that just the nature of there's just so many
sports in in the country?
SPEAKER_02 (22:41):
I don't I don't I don't know to be honest.
I think basketball is having alittle bit of a resurgence in
Australia in terms of the MBL,definitely.
Um I hope that translates overto the WMBL.
Um and I mean I'm in no wayhaving to go at AFLW or you
know, Supernetball or anythinglike that.
I'm you know, these athletes arevery impressive also.
(23:01):
But um this the WMBL has beensuch a strong and great product
for a long time, but um it justdoesn't, it's not really at the
same level that even, like Isaid, AFLW or the Supernetball
or anything is um at at themoment.
So I would love to see um thethe the game in Australia,
(23:22):
women's game in the Australiagrow and and um develop into you
know follow suit with yeah.
How do you think that willhappen?
Um I think exposure is is onething, you know, media exposure,
sponsorship, obviously.
Um but it just takes time.
I think it you know, as we kindof have to keep just chipping
(23:43):
away at um building the game,building our reper reputation,
um, getting out into thecommunity, um, showing that you
know there is this great thisgreat product being the WMBL and
um get people along.
SPEAKER_00 (23:57):
Yeah, because basketball at um uh uh uh for
children or kids is is massive.
Like most most my niece justtold me she's nine and she's
made into the under-twels teamand she's all excited.
SPEAKER_02 (24:09):
So I'm pretty sure it has the highest participation
rate uh in juniors um inAustralia.
I think I might just be makingthat stat up.
We'll go with it.
Yeah, yeah, let's go with it.
Um so it's interesting that itit's so high at the junior
level, but um support at theprofessional level isn't you
know, doesn't follow suit withthat.
(24:31):
But hopefully time will changeand um I would love to see the
WNBL into a you know a reallyhigh quality and high-viewed um
sport in the future and andthese athletes getting paid
full-time wages to compensatethem for the time and
commitment.
SPEAKER_00 (24:49):
So how many uh Australian uh women uh are in
the WNBA in the US?
SPEAKER_02 (24:55):
Oh, I think we have over ten now.
Um we've you know we've alwayshad really high representation
in the WNBA and not justparticipating or not just you
know, kind of players at the endof the bench.
You know, these are really highquality and um important players
in in the WMBA.
Um so I mean I expect that youknow there's we have a lot of
(25:19):
juniors, good juniors coming up,and that that's just gonna grow
and um increase the strength ofour our national team.
SPEAKER_00 (25:28):
Yeah, well hopefully it continues to grow and maybe
if we can win you know somemedals at the Olympics, I think
that always gives a bit of aboost over the next four years.
SPEAKER_02 (25:36):
Yeah, I would love to see Australia get back on the
uh the po back on the gold, youknow, gold medal podium.
We've consistently got uhsilvers and bronze, which is you
know an amazing accomplishment.
SPEAKER_00 (25:48):
But uh comparing to the US, like it's yeah, it's
very hard to compare.
SPEAKER_02 (25:53):
It is it is hard to compete with the US, but you
know we're getting we're gettingcloser and um I expect to be a
very, you know, strong rivalryin the future, and hopefully we
can uh pip them at some point.
SPEAKER_00 (26:06):
Yeah, no, that's really good.
Thanks for sharing.
Also, I want to touch on there'snot a lot of women in in funds
management.
So you maybe share someexperience about you know being
a a leader in in fundsmanagement as as a lady, and
because it can be obviouslyquite challenging to get to the
level that you're at, and Idon't know how you manage your
time and play professionalsport, do your job, and also a
(26:28):
mother.
Um I struggle to get out of bedto go to the gym.
SPEAKER_02 (26:32):
So yeah, I think um especially in um real estate
credit, there's um not a lot offemale representation in real
estate in Australia and not alot in finance in Australia.
So to combine the two, it's evenyou know less.
Um I think I'm veryself-motivated, and um, while
(26:53):
there's not a lot of women, I'vealso this has also given me a
lot of opportunities in mycareer where there's you know
they've required repres womenrepresentation and I've been
there to be able to step up andum provide that in circum circum
certain circumstances.
Um I don't I don't know what thewhy there's not a lot of women
(27:16):
um in in finance or in executivepositions or director positions,
um senior management positions.
Something I would love to seeand um I d I don't know what the
answer is, but I think I thinkin in in terms of myself, I've
always been um very, verymotivated and very um I would
(27:40):
say comfortable in inmale-dominated spaces.
So um that's not necessarily forall women, um, but I would love
to see changes where morerepresentation at at those
higher levels for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (27:53):
Yeah.
No, that's thank you forsharing.
And um, yeah, hopefully we cansee some more you know women
represented in in seniorpositions, especially like you
said, um real estate credit.
I I don't know too many womenthat are in you know that field
and and definitely not at theseniority of that you're at.
I just want to uh sort of gotowards the end of the
(28:13):
discussion and just maybe sharehow you got to where you are.
Like where did you what was yourfirst job and maybe just a quick
timeline of of your career?
SPEAKER_02 (28:21):
Yeah, sure.
So um, like I said, I finishedcollege and was playing um WMBL
or basketball around differentteams around Australia and I
knew I had to start my careersomewhere.
Um I would say my most I mean, Idid a few different odd jobs for
different companies along theway, but my first really foray
into a corporate professionalsense was um I worked for
(28:44):
Deloitte.
Um I was a little bit older atthis stage because I had been
playing basketball.
I think I was 25 and um a lot ofmy colleagues were were grads
and um it was a funnyenvironment.
I think I really struggledbecause I felt in the the role
and the the team I was in, um uhpromotions and different
(29:07):
acknowledgements was more basedon tenure rather than merit.
And as a professional athlete,that's something I really
struggled with.
Like people not um, you know,performing or not really caring
about their output, um, and not,you know, if you did perform
really well or you were reallygreat at your job, there was no
ability to kind of be recognizedfor that.
(29:29):
Um, so that was a a bit of areality check, realizing that
um, you know, the feedback thatyou get in sport, you train
well, you play well is isinstant, you reward it with more
court time, or you know, it'sit's very visible the the the
reward or the um the opposite.
SPEAKER_00 (29:46):
If you're not performing, then you're out of
the team.
SPEAKER_02 (29:48):
Exactly.
Um and people, you know, reallytake pride in their you know,
their ability and their workwhen you're in a professional
sporting um team or environmentwhere you know, of course.
Corporate work, I couldn'tunderstand that people didn't
really care about their outputand you know were just kind of
going through the motion.
(30:09):
So um I, you know, stayed therea couple of years and so what
were you doing at Deloitte?
Um I was on a um seconded to abank doing a um it was a Royal
Commission remediation work.
So I mean it wasn't overly, youknow, it wasn't uh an
environment where you really hadthe opportunity to, you know,
(30:33):
perform or really be challenged.
Challenged and things.
So um I didn't last there toolong, but I um from there I
stumbled into working for acompany called Maxcat Group,
who's another non-bank lender,and that's where at the time it
was a small, a smaller company,and now they've had massive
growth and um were bought byApollo um global management.
(30:56):
So, you know, a prettysignificant partner, but um
that's where my first exposureinto real estate credit that was
close to 10 years ago.
SPEAKER_00 (31:05):
And um so what what were you doing at Maxcap at that
point?
SPEAKER_02 (31:09):
Um it was a little bit of a kind of an operations
portfolio management role, umwhich suited me.
I think the way, again, is alittle bit more of a generalist
role, um, which kind of suits mypersonality or the way I even
played basketball, where I was alittle bit, you know, each team
has their superstars, but thenalso you need kind of role
(31:31):
players and big glue guys, Iguess, to make a successful
team.
And that's kind of how I sawmyself at at MaxCap in this
particular role.
Um, but through there, I thinkum there was there was even
times people would say I was toa point um aggressively
ambitious in terms of you know,I'm always trying to, you know,
(31:52):
progress my career or learn moreor take on more responsibility.
Um, so I kind of grew, diddifferent roles at that company,
and um that led me about closeto five years later to Centuria
Bass Credit and um the positionposition I'm in now.
And I started at Centuria Bassas um an associate director in
(32:13):
uh investor relations, so alittle bit more on the
investment management side andum assisting investors and
capital raising, but now I'vetransitioned more into the the
fund management role and ummanaging stakeholders both
internally and externally.
SPEAKER_00 (32:29):
And Centuria Bass has had exceptional growth over
the last well since how longhave you been there for?
SPEAKER_02 (32:36):
Um I've been there close to four years, and yeah,
it's had exceptional growth,like you said.
Um it's a really you knowexciting place and and and an
incredible company.
And um when I started theoriginal the the we have the
original two founders whofounded Bass Capital, um, and
they went into partnership withCenturia Um Capital, who's an
ASX listed company, and formedCenturia Bass Capital, um sorry,
(33:01):
Centuria Bass Credit, um, andwe've yeah had exceptional
growth over the last um four orfive years and have now have$2.3
uh billion dollars undermanagement and um you know have
big plans for future futuregrowth as well.
So it's a very exciting time andcompany to be a part of.
SPEAKER_00 (33:17):
Yeah, no, that's great.
Thank you for sharing.
Um I don't have any otherquestions for you.
I love the conversation.
Thank you for sharing um, youknow, your story and obviously
one thing like as a listener andsomeone that's never played
professional sport, I'm justthinking how challenging it
would be to be a professionalathlete, but also have to almost
(33:38):
self-fund that and still work.
SPEAKER_02 (33:40):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (33:40):
And balancing both.
SPEAKER_02 (33:43):
Yeah, it was it was really challenging, but I mean,
I was extremely passionate aboutboth.
Um I was I mean, on one hand, itwas some in some way a blessing.
I think a lot of athletes, youknow, while they you have you
dedicate so much time to yoursport or your craft, you often
have a lot of free time at theend of the day to then go home
(34:05):
and think about the mistakes youmade in a game or the mistakes
you made at training orwhatever.
Um it can it can be a slipperyslope in terms of the mindful or
you know um running through thatin your head.
For me, I went I went totraining, I had a game and I was
leaving as soon as it finishedto go go to my job and then
(34:28):
crank out a few hours of sittingbehind a desk or whatever it
might be.
I didn't have time to dwell ondifferent things.
And I mean, I was that workedfor me because um I was present
at basketball when I had to bethere, and then I would go and
have this um mental out outletwhen I went to work later.
And uh for me it felt like whileit was demanding and and and a
(34:51):
really a struggle at times, umit kind of was an outlet for
both, and yeah, I enjoyed that.
SPEAKER_00 (34:58):
Yeah, Ted Richards, who we had on um the show uh on
the Finance Men podcast.
I'm not sure exactly whatepisode it was on, but uh maybe
five or six episodes ago and hehe shared the same thing.
It's like you know, you you'replaying football, and then next
you're you know, you're working,so you're not thinking about
football anymore.
And then when you go back tofootball, you can focus on
(35:18):
football.
SPEAKER_02 (35:18):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (35:19):
And um, which is yeah, really, I think it makes a
difference.
The last question I've got foryou, yeah, because we hear it a
lot about um teenagers or oryoung professionals getting
homesick.
SPEAKER_02 (35:30):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (35:30):
Did that affect you at all?
Did you miss surfing on the GoldCoast?
SPEAKER_02 (35:34):
Yeah, I when I was in the States, I definitely had
moments of being um homesick.
Like I said, the times I washomesick was the times I wasn't
busy, or you know, I was at homein my dorm room or whatever it
was, and I just kind of was sitthere and think.
Um, I think I just tried toappreciate what a great
experience it was.
And um, you know, I was verylucky.
(35:57):
My parents came over and visitedme every year, so I was never,
you know, too far away from avisit.
But yeah, I mean it'schallenging.
I was 17 when I when I leftAustralia and moved over there.
I was I was very young.
Um, so yeah, there wasdefinitely some challenging
moments, but um for the mostpart I was pretty busy with
training and and schoolwork andthings like that.
(36:19):
I was didn't have too much timeto dwell on it.
SPEAKER_00 (36:22):
And how about playing when you went um came
back to Australia and played inthe um WNBL because you played
all around the country?
So was there did you get thatelement of of homesickness as
well, or less because you're abit more mature and you still
got to see your family quiteregularly?
SPEAKER_02 (36:38):
Less so um than when I was in the States.
Um yeah, I think Yeah, I was Iwasn't I was never homesick when
I was over here, I think becauseit always felt so much closer
than another country.
Um there was there wasdefinitely I would say the
biggest thing playing inAustralia is all the sacrifices
I had to make in terms of like,you know, missing weddings or
(37:02):
friends' birthday parties orwhatever, holidays or things
that I sacrificed um to play ina season that not everyone, you
know, had a lot of friendsoutside of the sport as well.
Um but I was always veryappreciative of the ability to
play at that level and um andthe experiences I got that I
tried to think of the positiverather than what I was missing
(37:23):
out on.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (37:24):
And I I think the I'm gonna leave it the
conversation by saying all ourguests talk about the success
they had, whether it be thepremiership, and the best part
of that is the reunion.
Yeah.
So you're looking forward to doyou do a five-year reunion, an
annual reunion, a 10-yearreunion?
SPEAKER_02 (37:40):
That's a good question.
We haven't uh we haven't donedone anything or have anything
planned.
Um I'll have to suggest that tosome of the girls, but uh
nothing, nothing in plans.
A lot of a lot of the playersthat I'm that I won that
championship with are stillplaying.
So they're probably not thinkingabout a reunion yet.
They're still you know tryingto.
SPEAKER_00 (37:59):
Maybe you need to do the 10 years, they'll be they'll
be retired by then.
SPEAKER_02 (38:02):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (38:02):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (38:03):
So um I'll I'll get back to you on that one.
SPEAKER_00 (38:05):
Awesome.
Well, thank you, Izzy.
Thanks for being a guest on theFinance Friends podcast.
I've really enjoyed thediscussion and all the best with
your um you know career ahead ofyou.
SPEAKER_02 (38:14):
Thanks, Fabian.
Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (38:20):
Thanks for listening this week.
Stay tuned for our next episodeand keep up to date with us by
following the Finance Friendspodcast on Instagram and TikTok.
Plus, connect with us and ourguests over on our LinkedIn
page, all linked in the shownotes.
SPEAKER_01 (38:41):
Disclaimer, this podcast exists for informational
and entertainment purposes.
The personal opinions of thespeaker and guests do not
represent the view of any otherpeople.
If this recording containsreference to financial products,
that reference does notconstitute advice nor
recommendations and may not bereliable.
Chill cotton the left chill cut the left hand
finishes good chill cutunderneath strong move that's a
three on three move threepointers going she's got more
three-pointers in a collegescreen than Steph Curry and
(00:22):
Chilcott with the two Welcomeback to Finance Friends, your
personal seat at the table withleaders shaping the financial
world in this exclusive seasonin the high-profile, incredibly
successful athletes who achievethe greatest heights on the
(00:43):
sports field and are nowdominating the finance world.
Today on Finance FriendsPodcast, we're excited to
welcome someone who has achievedexcellence in not just one, but
two highly competitive arenas.
Izzy Chilcott.
Before stepping into the worldof funds management, Izzy carved
out an impressive career on thebasketball court.
(01:05):
She played college basketball inthe United States at the
University of San Diego beforereturning home to Australia,
where she competed in the WNBLfor a decade across multiple
teams.
Now Izzy is the director andfund manager at Centuria Bass
Credit, who are a leader in realestate credit, managing$2.3
(01:28):
billion.
Her journey is a true testamentto discipline, adaptability, and
dedication.
We're thrilled to have Izzy onthe podcast sharing her story.
Hi, Izzy.
Welcome to the Finance FriendsPodcast.
How are you today?
SPEAKER_02 (01:43):
Good thanks, Fabian.
Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (01:45):
Well, thanks for coming in.
Um I've never met a professionalbasketball player before.
So are you still playing?
SPEAKER_02 (01:54):
Uh no, no, I'm a I'm a washed-up professional
basketball player now.
So those dreams are are longgone.
SPEAKER_00 (02:00):
Yeah, well, you've achieved those dreams, haven't
you?
SPEAKER_02 (02:03):
Uh yes, yes.
I'm very proud of uh what I'vewhat I've achieved in on
reflection, but um now just uhenjoying golf when I can and uh
running and all the otherhobbies that I didn't have time
for when I was playing sport.
SPEAKER_00 (02:18):
Yeah, well I'd imagine with your current uh
work position and also youmentioned you've got a young
one, probably don't have a lotof time to throw the ball
around.
SPEAKER_02 (02:27):
Time is time is limited, but um I've uh over a
lot of all the years I wasplaying professional basketball,
I was I was working as well, soI um am very used to time
management and and uh doing alot with not much.
So I'm uh just focusing on workand and getting getting out
there for my hobbies whenever Ican.
SPEAKER_00 (02:49):
Yep.
So you basketball, was it sinceyou were really young?
Did you play multiple sports andthen were just good at
basketball or a little bit.
SPEAKER_02 (02:59):
Um I've got two older brothers, so it's the the
uh the classic story of justwanting to do whatever they do.
I grew up on the Gold Coast Umand was very much into a lot of
sports, anything that mybrothers did.
Um, my family are all um avidsurfers.
Um my mum actually started asurf school, so um I grew up
(03:21):
surfing and playing a lot ofbasketball.
Um, but I kind of got to the endof end of high school and um was
a little bit of a fork in theroad whether I wanted to keep
competitive surfing or or godown playing um basketball a
little bit more seriously, butum getting a college or
university education was alwaysvery important to me and always
(03:44):
something I wanted to do.
And I got the opportunity to goplay um basketball in the in the
States at a at a college, so Igot a US scholarship, um, so to
type, decide to go down thatroute.
SPEAKER_00 (03:54):
Wow, which university did you end up at?
SPEAKER_02 (03:56):
Uh University of San Diego.
Um, like I said, I grew up onthe Gold Coast, so I choose
chose a school that was uh in alocation as similar to the Gold
Coast as I could find.
SPEAKER_00 (04:05):
Um San Diego's in California, is that right?
South of LA.
SPEAKER_02 (04:09):
Yeah, yeah.
Yep, yep, just on the borderbetween uh California and
Mexico.
So yeah, it was a great, greatexperience.
Loved it.
Very thankful that I got toexperience that.
SPEAKER_00 (04:19):
Because college sport in the US is insane.
SPEAKER_02 (04:24):
Yeah, it's huge.
SPEAKER_00 (04:25):
It's almost bigger than the professional league
because the alumni that all wentto that university are just
still so in tune to the sport.
SPEAKER_02 (04:34):
Yeah, it's yeah, like you said, it's it's bigger
than professional sport in inAustralia.
You know, the amount of money,viewership, I mean, America's
just you know, supersized oneverything, but college sport is
huge.
And to be a part of that wasvery cool, especially coming
from you know the Gold Coastwhere you know there wasn't the
Suns had just I think theystarted after I went to college,
(04:56):
so we didn't have a professionalsports team on the Gold Coast.
So to get over there was verycool.
SPEAKER_00 (05:00):
Yeah, because the Gold Coasters struggled with
professional sports team likethe A-League team, yeah, dropped
off, I think the rugby leagueteam.
SPEAKER_02 (05:08):
Yeah, they're still the Titans.
SPEAKER_00 (05:11):
Yeah, they've struggled.
SPEAKER_02 (05:12):
There was a MBL, a basketball team, men's
basketball team that's come andgone, and um yeah, it hasn't
been a huge success success, anyprofessional sports in the Gold
Coast.
SPEAKER_00 (05:22):
So I'm keen to know how many people or how many
women on the roster, as theywould say in the US, or I don't
know if they ref they say thatNFL, but um at the university,
was there like three teams orwas there 15 or 18 players that
made up the well I guess fivethat played regularly?
SPEAKER_02 (05:42):
Um so at our school there's just one, usually one
team for every sport at theuniversity.
Um there was I think there was12 or 14 on our um on our team.
Usually there's about 12 fullscholarships, and then maybe a
couple, they call them walk-ons,which are just people that go to
the school and try out for theteam or training players.
(06:04):
Um we also had practice players,which were typically boys that
went to the school that wantedto get a run out there with us.
So um, yeah, there was on onmost basketball teams you kind
of capped at 12, 12 kind ofsuiting up and and playing.
SPEAKER_00 (06:19):
Yep.
So can you share some insightinto what it was like being a
college basketballer?
So what's your schedule?
SPEAKER_02 (06:27):
Yeah, I mean, it was kind of pretty full on.
Um, you know, like university atany, you know, at any level or
any country, you got a fullfull-time course load, and then
we're training kind of every wemight have one day off a week,
and then you're training kind ofthree hours on court, a couple
hours in the gym.
(06:47):
Yeah, it's pretty intensive.
SPEAKER_00 (06:49):
Um and traveling as well.
Traveling, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (06:51):
There was there was a lot of traveling games all
over the the country.
So I like to say I've you knowspent four and a half years
living in the States.
I've seen a lot of basketballstadions and hotel rooms.
I haven't haven't seen a lot ofyou know outside of that.
But um, no, like I said, it wasa great experience and glad to
really glad that I got to do it.
SPEAKER_00 (07:10):
Yep.
And were you a regular in theteam or was it quite challenging
to get a spot?
SPEAKER_02 (07:15):
No, I mean I um I was a starter and I had a pretty
successful um career there.
Um, you know, like any any uhany athlete or any basketball
player knows you have your upsand downs in terms of court time
and um different things, butkind of that kind of just goes
hand in hand with with playingbasketball and but no, it was it
(07:38):
was a good, it was very good.
SPEAKER_00 (07:40):
So what advice would you give to a young Yeezy that's
just going over to San Diego toplay basketball on a
scholarship?
SPEAKER_02 (07:47):
Uh I mean I think just enjoy it.
Um I was pretty, you know, somepeople go over there and um, you
know, really enjoy it, partyhard and different things like
that.
I was pretty focused.
I've always been pretty umpretty focused and you know
education was really importantto me.
So I I studied hard and I and Itrained hard.
I didn't have a lot of time fortoo much else.
(08:09):
But um, I mean, I think I'm veryhappy with the experience I had
and um I think just I wouldn'tchange anything.
SPEAKER_00 (08:16):
Yeah.
And to be like to continue thescholarship, do you need to like
pass your subjects?
Is there a certain grade youneed to get, or is that
university dependent?
SPEAKER_02 (08:24):
Yeah, you have to have a certain GPA to qualify to
play, but um it's it's it wasn'toverly, you know, it was like
basically had to class pass atleast three of your subjects or
something to to qualify.
It wasn't really uh, you know,you if you weren't showing up to
class, you couldn't qualify, butyeah, that was that was it.
SPEAKER_00 (08:43):
That was it.
Yeah.
And were there other sportsteams that you sort of connected
with and was it common that thesports players of the university
would hang out together?
SPEAKER_02 (08:54):
Yeah, we uh there was a lot of different sports.
Um my school had kind ofeverything football, volleyball,
track, golf, you know, all theall the sports like a lot of the
schools do.
And um, yeah, there was a lot ofcommingling am amongst the
athletes.
Um so yeah, I met a lot ofpeople and it was it was great.
SPEAKER_00 (09:14):
Yeah, so what did you study at university?
SPEAKER_02 (09:17):
Uh finance.
Well, they call it over therebusiness administration, but
majoring in finance.
SPEAKER_00 (09:21):
Yeah.
And what made you choosefinance?
SPEAKER_02 (09:24):
Um I think I kind of have a uh a bit of an objective
personality.
I I um math, I I was a lotstronger at math than I was at
English, just you know, the theblack and white nature of it.
So um finance was kind of italways appealed to me and um I
kind of fell into it and it justthat's how it happened.
SPEAKER_00 (09:49):
Yeah.
So then you finished yourfour-year course, was it?
Yep.
Yeah.
So then can you share what whatyour experience was after that
four-year period?
SPEAKER_02 (09:57):
So I came back to Australia and um started playing
professional basketball inAustralia.
So in the WMBL, the Women'sNational Basketball League.
Um, I played for a number ofdifferent teams um in the WMBL
in in Brisbane and Perth andfinished my career in Melbourne
over a time frame of about 10years.
(10:18):
Um did that.
Um I was in an interestingposition while I was playing
professional sport.
It was women's professionalsport, so um there wasn't, you
know, the pay wasn't reallysustainable to to both to even
though it was a a full-timecommitment, it wasn't
necessarily a full-time wage.
(10:40):
So um I was working throughoutthroughout that period as well.
SPEAKER_00 (10:44):
Which is obviously extremely challenging.
Did you have like how were thebusinesses that you worked for,
they obviously understood yourcommitment to sport and were
quite flexible?
SPEAKER_02 (10:56):
Yeah, I had some great employers during that time
that um enabled me to be able tojuggle both both sport and and
work career.
Um I think during the the time Iwas very um critical of myself,
you know, that while I was I wasdoing both and able to juggle
(11:17):
both, I never felt like I wasexcelling or being the best
version or being the best that Icould at at either, which was
hard, but in reflection, I'm youknow I'm really proud of what I
was out able to achieve both,you know, in my sporting career
and um where my career's takenme to this point.
SPEAKER_00 (11:35):
So what's been the highlight of your sporting
career?
SPEAKER_02 (11:38):
Um I think one was the the opportunity to go play
in college, not probably notathletically, but in terms of
experience and something I'mgrateful for.
SPEAKER_00 (11:46):
I really have experience as well.
SPEAKER_02 (11:48):
Exactly.
Um sporting career.
Um I the last game I actuallyplayed was um with the Melbourne
Boomers, the grand final, theWNBL, which which we won, which
was a very congratulations.
Thank you.
That was a couple of years ago.
SPEAKER_00 (12:02):
22 or 20 years.
SPEAKER_02 (12:04):
22.
Um, so just to go out, you know,my last game ever being a grand
final, which we won, was a veryspecial moment.
SPEAKER_00 (12:10):
Did you know that at the time this was going to be
your last game?
SPEAKER_02 (12:12):
Yeah, uh, I knew the whole season this was gonna be
my last um hurrah, but I kind ofjoked they had to carry me off
the court to to make sure Ididn't come back.
But uh no, it was a it was youknow a really surreal moment and
you know a great way to finish.
SPEAKER_00 (12:26):
Yeah, and I guess it's it's probably because you'd
been working throughout thatperiod, it's less, it's it's a
lot would you say it's a loteasier to transition.
SPEAKER_02 (12:36):
Definitely the adjustment I you know I didn't
finish and try and have to findmy um you know my passion in
terms of what I wanted to doafter sport.
Um, so that was a lot, I guess,of a softer transition.
But that being said, I stillreally did struggle post
post-sport, you know, the theroutine and the competitive
outlet and all those things thatyou know embedded or what you've
(12:58):
been doing for you know, it wasclose to 20 years.
My whole yeah, exactly.
Um, kind of comes to a verysharp stop.
And um, so it was a hugeadjustment, but I was just lucky
enough that I was already, youknow, progressed in my career.
I knew what I wanted, you know,I was already in a career, I
wasn't trying to find myselfoutside of sport.
(13:19):
Um, so I was lucky in thataspect, but I can very much
sympathize with those that areplay sport for however many
years and just finish and thentrying to find what their what
their where their passion liesafter that.
It's uh it's hard.
SPEAKER_00 (13:34):
What's next?
Yeah.
And so let's go talk about yourcareer, your maybe share your
current role and and what you doat the moment and who you work
for.
SPEAKER_02 (13:42):
Yep.
Um, I'm a director and fundmanager for a company called St.
Juria Bass Credit.
So what we are is we're anon-bank lender for commercial
real estate.
SPEAKER_00 (13:52):
Okay, so let's break that down.
We say non-bank lender, becausemaybe some of our audience don't
know what a non-bank lender is.
Can you?
SPEAKER_02 (13:59):
Yeah, sure.
So um what we do is we provideloans to developers or borrowers
um for the purpose of purchasingor developing commercial real
estate.
Typically it's, you know, forlarge-scale land subdivisions or
um a block of apartments.
That's what I mean by commercialreal estate.
(14:20):
How we uh get those funds toprovide to the borrowers is we
raise funds, capital from highnet worth or ultra-high net
worth individuals.
Um, then we on land that to theborrowers, we charge borrowers
interest rates and fees, whichwe then pass back to investors
in the way of an incomedistribution.
unknown (14:40):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (14:40):
So essentially we act like a bank, but um, instead
of playing with you know thebank's money, we're um raising
funds from individuals.
SPEAKER_00 (14:50):
Yeah, because I think the definition of a a bank
is a deposit-taking institution.
So you can have a bank accountat Westpac and then they'll use
that money to to on lend.
Exactly.
So you raise the capital frominvestors.
That's right.
Yeah.
So why would a developer go toyou or why, you know, for for
funding when they maybe can goto a bank?
SPEAKER_02 (15:10):
It's a great question.
Um, there's no secret that weare more expensive than a bank.
So I think um that's the firstthing people typically ask.
But what we're able to do isprovide really fast and flexible
um terms to our borrowers.
So our borrowers are umdevelopers, might have one, two,
multiple projects.
(15:31):
Um, so they're willing to pay apremium to get um certainty of
that capital of those funds inum a shorter term time frame
than a bank would be able toprovide it to them.
Um also banks, because theirdeposit, you know, their their
money comes from everyday umdeposits from from um you know
(15:53):
people with bank accounts.
There's very stringent rules onthe types of loans they can
provide um to borrowers.
Exactly.
So we're able to be a lot moreflexible.
Um, we're able to tailor our um,you know, lending solutions to
those borrowers that that reallyfits and and helps those
borrowers um be able to achievetheir goals.
(16:14):
And we work with those borrowersto be able to do that.
SPEAKER_00 (16:17):
So in terms of your role, are you you obviously need
to assess the risk of thedevelopment and and what are the
the things that couldpotentially go wrong?
SPEAKER_02 (16:26):
So I'm a fund manager.
I kind of sit in between boththe deal origination team that
assess each of the loans, theborrowers and manage those
loans, and then the distributionteam that uh raises the capital.
Um I manage, we have um twopooled diversified funds, about
$700 million worth ofdiscretionary capital, which we
(16:48):
manage for investors.
So I manage those pooled funds,um, the daily, the day-to-day
operations of those funds, um,and really just ensuring the
best outcome for those investorswithin that fund.
So um I'm a bit of a you wouldsay generalist in, you know, we
have over 500 investors in thesefunds and we have over 60
(17:09):
assets.
I kind of need to be across allof that to make sure we're
managing um the best outcomesfor those investors.
SPEAKER_00 (17:16):
So if you were to to invest in your fund, what are
some things you need to bemindful of?
Obviously, you mentioned a highreturn.
Can you share some insightaround what what is the like
average return that an investorwould normally receive for the
pooled investment fund?
SPEAKER_02 (17:33):
So um we have a type of couple of different
investment options.
One of our funds is just purelyfirst mortgage.
So um we hold security over theunderlying property asset if
things were to go um if therewas a default or we had to step
in and and um take control ofthat asset asset, we have the
the downside protection of beingable to sell that asset or that
(17:55):
um piece of land for the theunderlying value.
Um but you know, this this orthis investment is not
risk-free.
Um, you know, it's subject tothe value in which you can
abstract from that that piece ofthat asset, that piece of land.
Um so we can only um recover tothe extent to which what's
available to recover of thevalue of that that um real
(18:19):
estate.
So um typically the the returnon a first mortgage is uh
between six and ten percent,depending on the the the asset.
SPEAKER_00 (18:30):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (18:31):
Um and then we have another fund that has first and
second mortgage exposure.
So second mortgage is just thesubordinated after that that
first mortgage um sits behindthe the first mortgage in in
terms of priority and repayment.
Um and you can uh expect a bithigher premium for for that type
of um uh investment because it'sup the up the risk curve, say
(18:54):
eight to twelve percent.
SPEAKER_00 (18:55):
And obviously that return will depend on where the
RBA cash rate is as well.
SPEAKER_02 (18:59):
Yeah, yeah.
It's um typically linked all ourloans to our borrowers are
linked um cash rate plus amargin.
So we think of um firstmortgage, it's typically kind of
RBA cash rate plus four to five,and then anything behind that
second mortgage is you'd say sixsix to eight type of range.
(19:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (19:20):
So how do you keep on top of all the assets?
SPEAKER_02 (19:23):
Um, I mean, it's not there's we have a big team at
Centuria Bass and some really umsome really high quality um
individuals that that managethese these loans and have
extensive experience both ummanaging and and originating.
So um it's a team effort, but umbeing across each each deal and
(19:46):
early intervention and and earlymanagement of a of a loan when
when it needs it is um is reallykey to to being able to um
recover um capital but alsoextract as much value out of out
of the out of the loan and andasset.
SPEAKER_00 (20:02):
Yeah, and obviously you may share some synergies
that you've learned from playingbasketball, both professionally
but also at college, that'shelped you in your career today.
SPEAKER_02 (20:13):
Yeah, I mean I think there are so many attributes um
that sport teaches people in aprofessional um capacity, you
know, playing sport at anylevel.
And the the the easy ones are,you know, uh teamwork, um
resilience, um time timemanagement.
(20:34):
Time management, absolutely, umperforming under pressure.
Um something that resonatesmostly with me is just being
able to expect the most frommyself and expect expect a
really high quality of umexpecting a really high quality
from myself not only from myselfbut my um my teammates or my
colleagues.
Yeah, you know, that's that'sreally important.
(20:55):
I think finance off obviously iscan be a very high pressure
environment, environment, andplaying professional sports,
that's an environment I'm I'mcomfortable in.
And um yeah, there's been a lotof a lot of times where I think
my background has held me ingood stead to in my professional
career.
SPEAKER_00 (21:13):
Yeah, and do you are you still involved in the
basketball in basketball today?
SPEAKER_02 (21:16):
No, besides being a um a uh a watcher or an enjoyer
of the sport, I'm not I'm notinvolved.
SPEAKER_00 (21:23):
Yeah.
Do you um do you see yourselfgetting back into the basketball
world or is that door closed?
SPEAKER_02 (21:31):
I think I think that that door's closed for me.
Um I'm happy just to be aspectator and a and a and a um
fan of the sport.
SPEAKER_00 (21:39):
Yeah, and the sport seems to be growing globally.
SPEAKER_02 (21:44):
Yeah, yeah, especially the women's side of
the game.
Um, I don't know how familiarare you are with some of the
players in the US, Caitlin Clarkand the Caitlin Clark effect,
but um, you know, the the gamehas grown so much over in the
States, and hopefully thattranslates to you know
viewership in Australia.
It's it's always um been a bitpuzzling for me.
(22:06):
Um Australia in terms of our ourwomen's national team has kind
of been top two or three rankedin you know globally for for
years and years.
Um we have a really strongnational competition, the WMBL,
but we've always just lacked theum the viewership, the
(22:27):
sponsorship, the the investmentthat um you know you would you
would expect for such a highquality product.
SPEAKER_00 (22:35):
Is that just the nature of there's just so many
sports in in the country?
SPEAKER_02 (22:41):
I don't I don't I don't know to be honest.
I think basketball is having alittle bit of a resurgence in
Australia in terms of the MBL,definitely.
Um I hope that translates overto the WMBL.
Um and I mean I'm in no wayhaving to go at AFLW or you
know, Supernetball or anythinglike that.
I'm you know, these athletes arevery impressive also.
(23:01):
But um this the WMBL has beensuch a strong and great product
for a long time, but um it justdoesn't, it's not really at the
same level that even, like Isaid, AFLW or the Supernetball
or anything is um at at themoment.
So I would love to see um thethe the game in Australia,
(23:22):
women's game in the Australiagrow and and um develop into you
know follow suit with yeah.
How do you think that willhappen?
Um I think exposure is is onething, you know, media exposure,
sponsorship, obviously.
Um but it just takes time.
I think it you know, as we kindof have to keep just chipping
(23:43):
away at um building the game,building our reper reputation,
um, getting out into thecommunity, um, showing that you
know there is this great thisgreat product being the WMBL and
um get people along.
SPEAKER_00 (23:57):
Yeah, because basketball at um uh uh uh for
children or kids is is massive.
Like most most my niece justtold me she's nine and she's
made into the under-twels teamand she's all excited.
SPEAKER_02 (24:09):
So I'm pretty sure it has the highest participation
rate uh in juniors um inAustralia.
I think I might just be makingthat stat up.
We'll go with it.
Yeah, yeah, let's go with it.
Um so it's interesting that itit's so high at the junior
level, but um support at theprofessional level isn't you
know, doesn't follow suit withthat.
(24:31):
But hopefully time will changeand um I would love to see the
WNBL into a you know a reallyhigh quality and high-viewed um
sport in the future and andthese athletes getting paid
full-time wages to compensatethem for the time and
commitment.
SPEAKER_00 (24:49):
So how many uh Australian uh women uh are in
the WNBA in the US?
SPEAKER_02 (24:55):
Oh, I think we have over ten now.
Um we've you know we've alwayshad really high representation
in the WNBA and not justparticipating or not just you
know, kind of players at the endof the bench.
You know, these are really highquality and um important players
in in the WMBA.
Um so I mean I expect that youknow there's we have a lot of
(25:19):
juniors, good juniors coming up,and that that's just gonna grow
and um increase the strength ofour our national team.
SPEAKER_00 (25:28):
Yeah, well hopefully it continues to grow and maybe
if we can win you know somemedals at the Olympics, I think
that always gives a bit of aboost over the next four years.
SPEAKER_02 (25:36):
Yeah, I would love to see Australia get back on the
uh the po back on the gold, youknow, gold medal podium.
We've consistently got uhsilvers and bronze, which is you
know an amazing accomplishment.
SPEAKER_00 (25:48):
But uh comparing to the US, like it's yeah, it's
very hard to compare.
SPEAKER_02 (25:53):
It is it is hard to compete with the US, but you
know we're getting we're gettingcloser and um I expect to be a
very, you know, strong rivalryin the future, and hopefully we
can uh pip them at some point.
SPEAKER_00 (26:06):
Yeah, no, that's really good.
Thanks for sharing.
Also, I want to touch on there'snot a lot of women in in funds
management.
So you maybe share someexperience about you know being
a a leader in in fundsmanagement as as a lady, and
because it can be obviouslyquite challenging to get to the
level that you're at, and Idon't know how you manage your
time and play professionalsport, do your job, and also a
(26:28):
mother.
Um I struggle to get out of bedto go to the gym.
SPEAKER_02 (26:32):
So yeah, I think um especially in um real estate
credit, there's um not a lot offemale representation in real
estate in Australia and not alot in finance in Australia.
So to combine the two, it's evenyou know less.
Um I think I'm veryself-motivated, and um, while
(26:53):
there's not a lot of women, I'vealso this has also given me a
lot of opportunities in mycareer where there's you know
they've required repres womenrepresentation and I've been
there to be able to step up andum provide that in circum circum
certain circumstances.
Um I don't I don't know what thewhy there's not a lot of women
(27:16):
um in in finance or in executivepositions or director positions,
um senior management positions.
Something I would love to seeand um I d I don't know what the
answer is, but I think I thinkin in in terms of myself, I've
always been um very, verymotivated and very um I would
(27:40):
say comfortable in inmale-dominated spaces.
So um that's not necessarily forall women, um, but I would love
to see changes where morerepresentation at at those
higher levels for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (27:53):
Yeah.
No, that's thank you forsharing.
And um, yeah, hopefully we cansee some more you know women
represented in in seniorpositions, especially like you
said, um real estate credit.
I I don't know too many womenthat are in you know that field
and and definitely not at theseniority of that you're at.
I just want to uh sort of gotowards the end of the
(28:13):
discussion and just maybe sharehow you got to where you are.
Like where did you what was yourfirst job and maybe just a quick
timeline of of your career?
SPEAKER_02 (28:21):
Yeah, sure.
So um, like I said, I finishedcollege and was playing um WMBL
or basketball around differentteams around Australia and I
knew I had to start my careersomewhere.
Um I would say my most I mean, Idid a few different odd jobs for
different companies along theway, but my first really foray
into a corporate professionalsense was um I worked for
(28:44):
Deloitte.
Um I was a little bit older atthis stage because I had been
playing basketball.
I think I was 25 and um a lot ofmy colleagues were were grads
and um it was a funnyenvironment.
I think I really struggledbecause I felt in the the role
and the the team I was in, um uhpromotions and different
(29:07):
acknowledgements was more basedon tenure rather than merit.
And as a professional athlete,that's something I really
struggled with.
Like people not um, you know,performing or not really caring
about their output, um, and not,you know, if you did perform
really well or you were reallygreat at your job, there was no
ability to kind of be recognizedfor that.
(29:29):
Um, so that was a a bit of areality check, realizing that
um, you know, the feedback thatyou get in sport, you train
well, you play well is isinstant, you reward it with more
court time, or you know, it'sit's very visible the the the
reward or the um the opposite.
SPEAKER_00 (29:46):
If you're not performing, then you're out of
the team.
SPEAKER_02 (29:48):
Exactly.
Um and people, you know, reallytake pride in their you know,
their ability and their workwhen you're in a professional
sporting um team or environmentwhere you know, of course.
Corporate work, I couldn'tunderstand that people didn't
really care about their outputand you know were just kind of
going through the motion.
(30:09):
So um I, you know, stayed therea couple of years and so what
were you doing at Deloitte?
Um I was on a um seconded to abank doing a um it was a Royal
Commission remediation work.
So I mean it wasn't overly, youknow, it wasn't uh an
environment where you really hadthe opportunity to, you know,
(30:33):
perform or really be challenged.
Challenged and things.
So um I didn't last there toolong, but I um from there I
stumbled into working for acompany called Maxcat Group,
who's another non-bank lender,and that's where at the time it
was a small, a smaller company,and now they've had massive
growth and um were bought byApollo um global management.
(30:56):
So, you know, a prettysignificant partner, but um
that's where my first exposureinto real estate credit that was
close to 10 years ago.
SPEAKER_00 (31:05):
And um so what what were you doing at Maxcap at that
point?
SPEAKER_02 (31:09):
Um it was a little bit of a kind of an operations
portfolio management role, umwhich suited me.
I think the way, again, is alittle bit more of a generalist
role, um, which kind of suits mypersonality or the way I even
played basketball, where I was alittle bit, you know, each team
has their superstars, but thenalso you need kind of role
(31:31):
players and big glue guys, Iguess, to make a successful
team.
And that's kind of how I sawmyself at at MaxCap in this
particular role.
Um, but through there, I thinkum there was there was even
times people would say I was toa point um aggressively
ambitious in terms of you know,I'm always trying to, you know,
(31:52):
progress my career or learn moreor take on more responsibility.
Um, so I kind of grew, diddifferent roles at that company,
and um that led me about closeto five years later to Centuria
Bass Credit and um the positionposition I'm in now.
And I started at Centuria Bassas um an associate director in
(32:13):
uh investor relations, so alittle bit more on the
investment management side andum assisting investors and
capital raising, but now I'vetransitioned more into the the
fund management role and ummanaging stakeholders both
internally and externally.
SPEAKER_00 (32:29):
And Centuria Bass has had exceptional growth over
the last well since how longhave you been there for?
SPEAKER_02 (32:36):
Um I've been there close to four years, and yeah,
it's had exceptional growth,like you said.
Um it's a really you knowexciting place and and and an
incredible company.
And um when I started theoriginal the the we have the
original two founders whofounded Bass Capital, um, and
they went into partnership withCenturia Um Capital, who's an
ASX listed company, and formedCenturia Bass Capital, um sorry,
(33:01):
Centuria Bass Credit, um, andwe've yeah had exceptional
growth over the last um four orfive years and have now have$2.3
uh billion dollars undermanagement and um you know have
big plans for future futuregrowth as well.
So it's a very exciting time andcompany to be a part of.
SPEAKER_00 (33:17):
Yeah, no, that's great.
Thank you for sharing.
Um I don't have any otherquestions for you.
I love the conversation.
Thank you for sharing um, youknow, your story and obviously
one thing like as a listener andsomeone that's never played
professional sport, I'm justthinking how challenging it
would be to be a professionalathlete, but also have to almost
(33:38):
self-fund that and still work.
SPEAKER_02 (33:40):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (33:40):
And balancing both.
SPEAKER_02 (33:43):
Yeah, it was it was really challenging, but I mean,
I was extremely passionate aboutboth.
Um I was I mean, on one hand, itwas some in some way a blessing.
I think a lot of athletes, youknow, while they you have you
dedicate so much time to yoursport or your craft, you often
have a lot of free time at theend of the day to then go home
(34:05):
and think about the mistakes youmade in a game or the mistakes
you made at training orwhatever.
Um it can it can be a slipperyslope in terms of the mindful or
you know um running through thatin your head.
For me, I went I went totraining, I had a game and I was
leaving as soon as it finishedto go go to my job and then
(34:28):
crank out a few hours of sittingbehind a desk or whatever it
might be.
I didn't have time to dwell ondifferent things.
And I mean, I was that workedfor me because um I was present
at basketball when I had to bethere, and then I would go and
have this um mental out outletwhen I went to work later.
And uh for me it felt like whileit was demanding and and and a
(34:51):
really a struggle at times, umit kind of was an outlet for
both, and yeah, I enjoyed that.
SPEAKER_00 (34:58):
Yeah, Ted Richards, who we had on um the show uh on
the Finance Men podcast.
I'm not sure exactly whatepisode it was on, but uh maybe
five or six episodes ago and hehe shared the same thing.
It's like you know, you you'replaying football, and then next
you're you know, you're working,so you're not thinking about
football anymore.
And then when you go back tofootball, you can focus on
(35:18):
football.
SPEAKER_02 (35:18):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (35:19):
And um, which is yeah, really, I think it makes a
difference.
The last question I've got foryou, yeah, because we hear it a
lot about um teenagers or oryoung professionals getting
homesick.
SPEAKER_02 (35:30):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (35:30):
Did that affect you at all?
Did you miss surfing on the GoldCoast?
SPEAKER_02 (35:34):
Yeah, I when I was in the States, I definitely had
moments of being um homesick.
Like I said, the times I washomesick was the times I wasn't
busy, or you know, I was at homein my dorm room or whatever it
was, and I just kind of was sitthere and think.
Um, I think I just tried toappreciate what a great
experience it was.
And um, you know, I was verylucky.
(35:57):
My parents came over and visitedme every year, so I was never,
you know, too far away from avisit.
But yeah, I mean it'schallenging.
I was 17 when I when I leftAustralia and moved over there.
I was I was very young.
Um, so yeah, there wasdefinitely some challenging
moments, but um for the mostpart I was pretty busy with
training and and schoolwork andthings like that.
(36:19):
I was didn't have too much timeto dwell on it.
SPEAKER_00 (36:22):
And how about playing when you went um came
back to Australia and played inthe um WNBL because you played
all around the country?
So was there did you get thatelement of of homesickness as
well, or less because you're abit more mature and you still
got to see your family quiteregularly?
SPEAKER_02 (36:38):
Less so um than when I was in the States.
Um yeah, I think Yeah, I was Iwasn't I was never homesick when
I was over here, I think becauseit always felt so much closer
than another country.
Um there was there wasdefinitely I would say the
biggest thing playing inAustralia is all the sacrifices
I had to make in terms of like,you know, missing weddings or
(37:02):
friends' birthday parties orwhatever, holidays or things
that I sacrificed um to play ina season that not everyone, you
know, had a lot of friendsoutside of the sport as well.
Um but I was always veryappreciative of the ability to
play at that level and um andthe experiences I got that I
tried to think of the positiverather than what I was missing
(37:23):
out on.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (37:24):
And I I think the I'm gonna leave it the
conversation by saying all ourguests talk about the success
they had, whether it be thepremiership, and the best part
of that is the reunion.
Yeah.
So you're looking forward to doyou do a five-year reunion, an
annual reunion, a 10-yearreunion?
SPEAKER_02 (37:40):
That's a good question.
We haven't uh we haven't donedone anything or have anything
planned.
Um I'll have to suggest that tosome of the girls, but uh
nothing, nothing in plans.
A lot of a lot of the playersthat I'm that I won that
championship with are stillplaying.
So they're probably not thinkingabout a reunion yet.
They're still you know tryingto.
SPEAKER_00 (37:59):
Maybe you need to do the 10 years, they'll be they'll
be retired by then.
SPEAKER_02 (38:02):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (38:02):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (38:03):
So um I'll I'll get back to you on that one.
SPEAKER_00 (38:05):
Awesome.
Well, thank you, Izzy.
Thanks for being a guest on theFinance Friends podcast.
I've really enjoyed thediscussion and all the best with
your um you know career ahead ofyou.
SPEAKER_02 (38:14):
Thanks, Fabian.
Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_00 (38:20):
Thanks for listening this week.
Stay tuned for our next episodeand keep up to date with us by
following the Finance Friendspodcast on Instagram and TikTok.
Plus, connect with us and ourguests over on our LinkedIn
page, all linked in the shownotes.
SPEAKER_01 (38:41):
Disclaimer, this podcast exists for informational
and entertainment purposes.
The personal opinions of thespeaker and guests do not
represent the view of any otherpeople.
If this recording containsreference to financial products,
that reference does notconstitute advice nor
recommendations and may not bereliable.
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The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.