RMBL Investments Newsletter — March 2021

6 min readMay 31, 2021

Quarterly Update

Funds under management now exceed $1.16 billion. Our fund size continues to grow, largely due to RMBL’s interest rates and the loyalty of its Members.

Since the last quarter of 2020, RMBL has been in receipt of large tranches of funds resulting in extended timeframes in placing funds into new and existing Sub Scheme loans.

This has been caused by the following factors:

(a) predominantly through the completion of projects and consequential settlement of sales whereby large tranches of funds have been returned to RMBL;

(b) longer timeframes for valuation or quantity surveyor/civil engineer reports to be completed, which is a pre-requisite for funds to be advanced; and

While we continue to receive Loan Applications and enquiries from existing and new Borrowers, RMBL continues to assess these applications diligently and in line with our obligations to Members and declines any proposals which do not meet our strict lending guidelines.

To manage the delays fairly, we have implemented a queue system for new funds and existing funds being repaid by Borrowers. Priority will always be given to existing funds being repaid early by Borrowers over any new funds deposited with RMBL.

When a Borrower repays a loan, RMBL will advise you about the repayment of your investment. A reinvestment offer will be sent to as soon as your funds reach the front of the queue, and a replacement Sub Scheme is available

RMBL continues to accept deposits of new funds provided Members understand and are willing to accept that there will be a delay investing their funds.

Members are encouraged to contact our team on the below numbers to enquire about investing new funds, your current investment or funds which may have been repaid early.

Andre Bokos on (03) 9213 5704 or 0419 754 872

Dawn Arendse on (03) 9213 5708 or 0456 719 609.

Economic Update

Across Australia the property market is performing very strongly with demand up 18.2% from last year and the largest increases being recorded in Victoria at 25%. The end of nationwide lockdowns has seen a huge return to the market for pent up buyers, which has also been fuelled by government incentives and low borrowing costs. Within the predominant sectors RMBL is operating in, in particular the residential subdivision space, developments are being pushed through at a faster pace to keep up with buyer demand for stock.

We will continue to see projects completed quickly to continue to keep up with this demand, which will see in turn a continual return of funds and a need to source new, good quality projects to fund.

A topic of constant review is the timing for borders to re-open and hence for immigration numbers to start flowing again. Once this becomes clearer, this will have yet a further impact on market conditions.

Interest Rates

Due to easing of interest rates and a historically low cash rate of 0.10%, there is significant competition in the non-bank lending space.

RMBL is reviewing the overall loan book and across many Sub Scheme facilities, rates will be reduced where relevant to ensure that RMBL can maintain its current loan portfolio and remain competitive.

Cyber Fraud Threats

Cyber criminals are becoming very sophisticated and can impersonate emails, purporting to be from RMBL.

We would strongly suggest that, if you intend to electronically deposit funds to our Trust account, you call our office to verify any such email instructions before acting on the same.

Appointment of Head of Risk and Compliance

RMBL has appointed Hayley Pope as Head of Risk and Compliance to lead and uplift the Risk and Compliance function as RMBL continues to grow.

Hayley is not new to RMBL, she was Legal Counsel for RMBL between 2007 and 2008 and has been a member of RMBL’s Compliance Committee for the last few years. She therefore has a good understanding of how RMBL operates and has been able to hit the ground running.

Immediately prior to re-joining RMBL, Hayley was Senior Legal Counsel at IOOF and between 2008 and 2021 has gained significant experience in the financial services industry, having held roles with the Financial Ombudsman Service, as well as a few industry superannuation funds.

Wholesale Members

Did you know that RMBL accepts both Wholesale and Retail Members to make investment into the Scheme?

To be considered a Wholesale Member you need to meet certain threshold tests under the Corporations Act, which include:

(a) Where your investment with RMBL exceeds $500,000; or

(b) You are a business investing with RMBL above a certain size being:

(i) a business that manufactures goods that has over 100 employees; or

(ii) a business of any other kind if it employs over 20 people; or

(i) have net assets of $2.5 million; and/or

(ii) or have gross income of at least $250,000 a year for the last two years (including gross income of controlled companies or trusts).

Wholesale Members do not receive an SPDS and are not required to provide consent before their funds are invested into a Sub Scheme, so their funds can be invested more readily.

However, Wholesale Members do receive monthly statements showing where their funds are invested and can request a copy of an SPDS at any time. Further, Wholesale Members can provide preferences to RMBL about which Sub Schemes they would like or not like their funds invested.

However, just like Retail Members, if funds are invested into a defaulting loan, Wholesale Members are unable to remove their funds from the loan until the loan is no longer in default and only where RMBL can replace their funds in the loan.

You should discuss whether becoming a Wholesale Member is right for you with your financial planner or accountant.

If you are interested exploring the possibility of becoming a Wholesale Member, please contact:

Andre Bokos on (03) 9213 5704 or 0419 754 872

Dawn Arendse on (03) 9213 5708 or 0456 719 609.

Sponsorships

RMBL is a major sponsor of some charity and community events:

Australian Sports Foundation
The Australian Sports Foundation has been helping athletes, sporting clubs and organisations fundraise for more than 30 years, to address the issue of underfunding within grass roots sporting clubs and cover the costs of athletes to pay for sporting gear or competition related travel expenses.

Let’s Beat Bowel Cancer
This is an initiative of Cabrini Health, dedicated to saving lives through bowel cancer research. RMBL is a Gold Sponsor of this annual event held at Kingston Heath golf course.

Rotary Club of Endeavour Hills
RMBL sponsors their annual charity golf day, which raises funds for “Disaster Aid”.

Rotary Club of Cranbourne
RMBL sponsored the Rotary Club of Cranbourne Annual Golf Day held on 12 March 2021 at Settlers Run Golf Course. Funds raised from this event will be dedicated to two groups:

ACE Foundation (Aiding Casey Education) — provides meals to students who arrive at school without breakfast or lunch/free eye testing with provision of glasses for vision impaired students/free supervised study and tutoring facilities for students at the Thompson Road Clinic.

CISS (Cranbourne Information & Support Services) — provides independent, free impartial and confidential information, referral and support services to the local Cranbourne community. Directs aid and assistance to people in need of relief from poverty, distress, misfortune, destitution, homelessness and helplessness.

South Gippsland — Leongatha, Meeniyan and Korumburra Bowling Clubs
A number of our Members are associated with these clubs and we are pleased to support them on special player days.

Upper Beaconsfield Village Festival
RMBL sponsors the Group Participation prize in the Tough Tower Challenge Run/Walk. This event takes place on a 6.5km (approximately) undulating course around the streets and tracks of Upper Beaconsfield which started in 1997.

Caroline Chisholm Education Foundation Annual Charity Golf Day
RMBL is a Gold Sponsor of their annual golf day. The charity supports students in financial hardship to receive a high quality vocational qualification at the Chisholm Institute.

Girl Guides of Victoria Women of Note Mentor Breakfast
RMBL is a Gold Sponsor of the Annual Casey Mentor Breakfast held at the Bunjil Place function centre. The event aims to provide mentoring opportunities to year 11 students within Victoria.

Taking a Swing for Charity — Annual Golf Day
This event is organized by the City of Greater Dandenong through its business networking unit (SEBN) together with corporate sponsors. The event aims to raise funds for local communities.

Member Feedback

We are always interested in receiving suggestions and feedback on how we are servicing our Members. Should you have any suggestions or feedback on how we can improve our communication or service, please inform us by email to team@rmbl.com.au or by calling us on 9213 5700.