La Trobe Financial, one of the preeminent alternative asset managers in Australia, pursues an investment strategy rooted in the three golden rules of simplicity, diversification and patience. The firm’s positive financial performance and positive corporate culture attracted the attention of a new shareholding collaborator that shared its strategic vision. Brookfield, a Canadian multinational asset manager, acquired La Trobe in May 2022, just three months shy of its 70th anniversary. La Trobe Financial leadership referred to the sale as a “match made in heaven”. The move will strengthen La Trobe Financials support network without tinkering with its time-tested methods. The firm has built a $17 bn portfolio with disciplined and diversified selection of granular exposures across sector, loan size, borrower type and security location. In January 2023, La Trobe Financials credit fund reached a milestone of $9bn — now $9.5bn — in AUM. In the last half of 2022, the credit fund, which comprises 12,640 loans with an average amount of $695,000 and an average loan-to-value ratio of 64.8 percent, yielded investor distributions totalling $207m. In April 2023, the non-bank lender concluded its fifteenth residential mortgage-backed security deal, which was originally mandated at $750m and, following strong investor demand, was upsized to $1bn. The firm recently updated its investor platform, La Trobe Direct, to provide users with a simplified and more intuitive experience, greater control and enhanced security. The CFI.co judging panel presents repeat programme winner La Trobe Financial with the 2023 award for Best Investment Management Team (Australia).