More on Metrics, plus Hyperion’s style drift

Joe's piece on Metrics Credit Partners certainly got Rampart's subscribers talking and sharing – as expected, since Metrics has quietly become one of Australia's biggest property developers while passing itself off as a regular private credit manager. Wags in the industry now refer to the firm as Metrics Equity Partners.

Even a Metrics big gun was moved to relay his constructive feedback. "Your sensationalism is sickening," wrote Metrics investment director Michael Goldman in a since-deleted public comment on Instagram. "What's worse is you profit from it. Who is the unethical one? I'm so glad I unsubscribed from your trash."

Nobody wants unhappy customers, least of all a 14-month-old media start-up, but the striking thing is that Goldman – like every other aggrieved Metrics defender – declined to particularise what, exactly, is factually inaccurate about Rampart's criticisms of Metrics' standards.

There’s private credit, then there’s Metrics

Leading restaurateur Andrew Lockhart speaks out.

RampartJoe Aston

Pinnacle Investment Management's godhead Ian Macoun was very stroppy on his February investor call about "generally uninformed, ignorant and stupid comments" about Metrics he took exception to in 2025. As Joe explained, Pinnacle acquired 35 per cent of Metrics the manager in 2018, was diluted significantly by new investors last year (including by Metrics equity stuffed down the throat of Metrics-managed funds), but last week restored its holding to 35 per cent by spending $101 million on Metrics shares at a staggering $1.5 billion valuation.

Bear in mind, Metrics made a curiously meagre $20 million of net profit after tax in both FY24 and in FY25 – despite having upwards of $20 billion of assets under management.[[Metrics AUM has since jumped past $30 billion thanks largely to the acquisition of Taurus and BC Investment Group, funded by selling shares in Metrics the manager to Metrics funds.]] In addition to management and performance fees from those AUM, Metrics scrapes deal establishment fees directly from the companies borrowing from Metrics funds (fees that really ought to be going to the investors in those funds, not to the manager). Andrew Lockhart will be deeply uncomfortable at the (admittedly distant) prospect of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission succeeding in curtailing that practice.[[Let's say Metrics writes a very conservative $5 billion of new loans each year in its funds and takes 50 basis points from each client. That's $25 million in revenue for the manager – almost as much as it currently generates in pre-tax profit.]]