The Arkus Fund offers a stable and predictable investment by pooling funds into a portfolio of Registered First Mortgages written by GPS. Its speciality is financing property development projects across South East Queensland, with investors earning monthly distributions from the interest paid by developers on these construction loans. The key security feature is the 'First Mortgage' position, meaning in any scenario, Arkus investors are the first to be repaid.

Managed by the experienced GPS team, the fund is uniquely accessible. It has a $1 minimum investment and encourages regular, smaller contributions, making it easier to get started and build over time. With monthly withdrawal options providing flexibility, the fund presents an alternative for savings, targeting a competitive interest rate by giving investors direct access to the returns from property development finance.

• investing in Registered First Mortgages;
• no related party lending;
• independent, expert valuations obtained before settlement;
• properties only located in South East Queensland; and
• maximum loan limits to avoid exposure to single loans, secured property types or any one Borrower.

Ah. Another fantastic question. I can feel we are going to get along well. 

Investing is a VAST industry with lots of options to choose from, from almost every field. Our speciality is Registered First Mortgages over development projects in South East QLD. 

It starts from when a developer wants to build the next set of units in Taringa or townhouses in Albany Creek, they first have to seek the funding to get the job done. They can go the bank, or they can go to a private lender – such as GPS Development Finance (GPS DF). When they borrow money from GPS DF, GPS Investment Fund obtains a mortgage over the land while the project is built, and then the developer pays good old interest and fees on that loan while they build, and then repay the loan at the end. Makes sense right? So when you invest with Arkus, you are investing in those mortgages over the properties while the projects are being built, and being paid your monthly distribution, thanks to the Developers paying their interest fees.

GPS will handle 20-30 of these projects at any one time only, and with Arkus being a ‘Pooled Fund’ set up – you invest in each of those with all your fellow Arkus investors. Cue the song “we are all in this together.“

Ok but why is it called a FIRST mortgage? That is because there can be multiple mortgages on a property. We have all seen the Hollywood films where people stretch themselves with 2 or 3 mortgages on their home. The same is possible with construction lending. GPS, and therefore Arkus, only ever sits in 1 position. Meaning we get paid out first and our investors get repaid first, and those sitting in other positions have to wait until we are repaid before they see any money at all. There are other investment funds that will sit in those other positions – so make sure to take that into consideration when assessing whether Arkus is the fund for you.

I assume ‘because we think so’ isn’t going to cut it as an appropriate answer. So let me summarise this into its key points: 

• No minimum investment so you can get started sooner;
• Regular transfers allowed (in fact encouraged) to grow your investment - you will be hard pressed finding another fund that allows you to set up recurring transfers to make regular, smaller investments. Investing shouldn’t be limited to those that already have thousands spare in the bank;
• An interest rate that will make you reconsider using that spare bank account for your savings. A bank savings account at 4.5% or Arkus at 6.5% - interesting comparison; and
• Withdrawal options are monthly. You shouldn’t have to ‘lock’ your money away for 12+ months. We understand that life can throw curveballs *cough* global pandemic *cough*, and we all need a little extra peace of mind.

The Fund operates as a non-liquid managed investment scheme which means Investors will not be able to withdraw their investment in the Fund unless a Withdrawal Notice’ is submitted and GPS makes a Withdrawal Offer. GPS intends to make Withdrawal Offers calendar monthly and puts aside an amount of cash each calendar month for this purpose. However, the ability to make Withdrawal Offers, and the amount available under any Withdrawal Offer, depends on cash held and loan pay-outs in that calendar month.  

GPS does not guarantee Withdrawal Offers will be made monthly. Further, if a Withdrawal Offer is made, GPS does not guarantee that an Investor will be able to withdraw the full amount requested.  This is because, if the amount of Withdrawal Requests exceeds the amount available under the Withdrawal Offer, withdrawal Requests from Investors will be satisfied pari passu (prorata) based on the amount they sought to withdraw. 

GPS has always met our objective of delivering investments that provide a regular income to Investors. We work hard to make sure that monthly interest is paid in a timely manner and apply our best endeavours to ensure, where possible, that withdrawal requests are fully met.

GPS has met it’s target rate, paid monthly, consistently since its first Investor in May 2015. No retail Investor has ever incurred a capital loss investing with GPS^*.

^*Past performance is not an accurate indicator of future performance.