EW&L Insights
12 November, 2025
After one of the sharpest rate cycles in recent history, the property market looks very different. Construction costs remain high, liquidity is patchy, and capital is more selective. In this kind of environment, the investors who compound are those who combine timing, discipline, and the right partners. All principles that have guided Australia’s most successful property investors for decades.
In a recent episode of The Exchange, EW&L Partner Ryan Loehr sat down with AsheMorgan Principal Michael Rothner to explore the enduring lessons of active management in property. Lessons that matter as much today as ever.
Lesson 1: Timing and Gearing Still Matter
Every cycle tests investor discipline. When liquidity tightens or valuations shift, gearing and patience often decide who endures.
“Sometimes you don’t get the cycle right,” Rothner reflected. “The key is gearing and patience. Always assume it’s going to cost more and take longer.”
Ryan noted that the same discipline underpins every asset class:
“In property or credit, you can’t control the cycle. But you can control liquidity, structure, and entry point. That’s where outcomes are decided.”
In his article Understanding Long-Term Investing, Ryan wrote that patience and structure are the foundations of long-term compounding. The same holds true here: the investors who calibrate risk and liquidity properly are best positioned to stay invested when others step back.
Lesson 2: The Right Partner Can Define the Outcome
Partnership quality often determines success more than market timing.
“A good sponsor can get you out of a bad deal,” Rothner said. “And a bad sponsor can mess up a good one.”
Ryan echoed that focus on alignment:
“We always look at the people behind the investment first. Their governance. Their incentives. How they behave under pressure. The right partner protects capital when markets turn.”
That philosophy reflects EW&L’s value of Strength in Partnership: lasting wealth comes from working with people who share your horizon and accountability.
Lesson 3: Agility Creates Opportunity
The best investors aren’t those who avoid change. They’re the ones that adapt early and decisively.
Michael shared that he believes “you’ve constantly got to reinvent yourself. Every environment, good or bad, presents opportunity.”
Ryan explored that theme in US Trip: Learning from Those Who Drive the Largest Market in the World, where he observed that global managers stay agile by reassessing risk, structure, and pricing through each cycle.
Agility doesn’t mean reacting to noise. It means repositioning deliberately into income-generating assets when volatility rises, or toward growth opportunities when risk is mispriced. Adaptability, grounded in analysis, is what converts uncertainty into opportunity.
At Emanuel Whybourne & Loehr, we help families assess how property and private markets fit within their broader portfolios, balancing liquidity, income, and long-term growth. Speak with an adviser if you’d like to learn more.
And for deeper insight into how institutional investors are approaching property today, join our webinar “Let’s Get Real: Inside Australia’s Property & Real Asset Markets” on 13 November for a discussion on navigating opportunity across property and alternatives. Reserve your place.
Lesson 4: Income and Value Creation Beat Speculation
When speculation fades, fundamentals prevail.
“We rarely underwrite for cap-rate compression,” Rothner explained. “We look for assets where we can extract value through rents, refurbishment or repositioning.”
Ryan agrees:
“Investors are gravitating back to tangible income, like cash flow they can see and measure. That’s where experienced managers add real value.”
This focus on operating performance over market sentiment reflects the essence of active management: create value, don’t wait for it.
Lesson 5: Patience Builds Real Value
Patience remains the quiet strength of experienced investors.
“Everyone talks about chasing yield. But real value comes from patience and timing. Knowing when not to buy is just as important,” shares Rothner.
Ryan calls this stewardship over speculation. In The Next-Generation Family Office, he explained how families who make fewer, better-timed decisions preserve wealth across generations.
Ryan added that “you don’t need to win every cycle. You just need to avoid the ones that destroy compounding.”
Lesson 6: Real Assets Remain a Long-Term Anchor
As the market resets, quality real assets are again proving their worth as long-term anchors. Rising construction costs limit new supply, while offshore investors, particularly from Japan, are returning for stable yield and governance transparency.
Ryan summarised it simply:
“The next decade of returns will come from patient capital. Investors who think in decades, not headlines.”
What This Means for Investors
At EW&L, we view real assets as a cornerstone of diversified portfolios. Managed actively, they offer income stability, inflation protection, and participation in structural growth. Qualities that compound across generations.
Continue the conversation on 13 November 2025 at our Real Assets Webinar, where EW&L partners and leading experts unpack the key themes shaping property and alternative investments across Australia. Check out the panellist line up here.
Listen to the Full Conversation
Active Management Is Redefining the Market: Insights from Four Decades in Property
Now streaming on The Exchange Podcast by Emanuel Whybourne & Loehr.
