Operational Mastery: How Mackersy Property Digitalised Operations with Caruso

Introduction: New Zealand's Commercial Property Investment Experts

With more than $2.2 billion worth of assets under management, Mackersy Property has established itself as one of New Zealand's largest commercial and industrial property portfolios. Over 25 years, the firm has built a reputation for excellence in commercial property syndication, managing over 200 properties and 460 tenants nationwide on behalf of more than 2,800 investors.

As a commercial property syndicator, Mackersy Property facilitates opportunities for wholesale investors to pool resources and acquire prime commercial real estate that meets strict investment criteria developed over a quarter-century of market experience. The firm's end-to-end approach encompasses property acquisition, tenant management, asset optimisation, and treasury services—all designed to capture superior returns from New Zealand's commercial property market.

"We strive to be New Zealand's most trusted commercial property investment and management business," explains Jenna Bradley, Operations Manager at Mackersy Property. With responsibility for investor relations, AML/CFT compliance, and IT operations, Bradley has witnessed firsthand how the right technology can transform fund operations while maintaining the personal touch that has distinguished Mackersy Property for decades.

The Challenge: Manual Processes Constraining Growth

Despite their market-leading position, Mackersy Property found themselves constrained by legacy systems that couldn't keep pace with their expanding investor base or meet modern expectations for digital engagement. The operational inefficiencies were becoming increasingly apparent across multiple critical functions.

"It impacted our efficiency a lot. It was very time-consuming, it was manual," Bradley reflects. The firm's investment operations relied heavily on paper-based processes and Excel spreadsheets, creating significant operational friction. "Previously, investor onboarding required separate application forms for each commitment. Payments were handled manually through recurring batch reports."

The distribution process exemplified these challenges. Any trades occurring during the month had to be reported to the finance team via email and online spreadsheets, who then manually updated batch reports and calculated investor returns. "It was just a really slow process and our operations really lacked efficiency," Bradley notes.

The investor experience was equally problematic. "Our previous investor portal failed to provide our investors the essential portfolio information and documentation that they really wanted," explains Bradley. "It also wasn't very intuitive or user-friendly for our investors, and given our average investor age, that was something that drove us to look for something different."

Perhaps most concerning were the compliance risks inherent in these manual processes. The previous systems allowed for too much autonomy for investors across multiple fund managers, causing compliance and data struggles. With 2,800 investors and growing, these manual processes weren't just inefficient—they posed genuine operational and regulatory risks.

The finance team bore a particularly heavy burden, manually calculating returns for thousands of investors each month. "Excel was used to calculate all the payments, and the registry data from our old system was extracted into Excel to allow our finance team to see any registry changes," Bradley explains. This approach left too much room for human error and consumed valuable time that could have been spent on value-adding activities.

The Solution: Integrated Technology with Expert Implementation

Mackersy Property selected Caruso for its combination of automation capabilities and user-friendly design. "It was really the ease of use and the application automation that Caruso offered, both for Mackersy Property and our investors," Bradley explains.

The implementation process itself became a key differentiator. Rather than requiring Mackersy Property to manage a complex technology transition alongside their daily operations, Caruso took full ownership of the process. "The Caruso team were extremely efficient in ensuring that they controlled the whole process for us. It meant we also didn't have to outsource a project manager," Bradley notes. "It allowed our team to continue day-to-day business with minimum disruption."

The personal attention from Caruso's leadership team proved invaluable. "Mark and Ollie ensured that we had the appropriate implementation team led by Cyran who addressed our concerns and issues throughout the process, and they continue to do that now that we are fully onboarded with them," Bradley shares. This ongoing relationship has created a partnership focused on continuous improvement rather than a transactional software implementation.

Caruso's solution addressed Mackersy Property's key operational challenges through several integrated capabilities:

• Automated Investor Onboarding: Self-service account creation with investors establishing their own entities and entering required details, including tax information flagged as self-declared for team review
• Streamlined Payment Processing: Automated calculation of investor returns based on registry changes, eliminating manual spreadsheet calculations and reducing error risk
• Unified Registry Management: A single source of truth for unit registry data accessible across all business units, replacing fragmented Excel-based reporting
• Enhanced Investor Portal: Intuitive interface providing comprehensive portfolio information, document access, and monthly distribution statements in one secure location
• Integrated Compliance Management: Centralised control over investor data and compliance requirements, reducing autonomy-related errors while maintaining audit trails

"They have continued to demonstrate willingness to learn, listen to us and our feedback, and openness to changes and suggestions for improving the platform," Bradley notes, highlighting the collaborative approach that has made the partnership successful.

The Results: Operational Excellence and Investor Satisfaction

The transformation delivered by Caruso has been comprehensive, touching every aspect of Mackersy Property's fund operations while significantly enhancing the investor experience.

"Our investor onboarding is one area that's seen a huge improvement," Bradley reports. "We no longer need to ask our investors questions or request manual paperwork." This self-service approach has not only reduced administrative burden but also accelerated the onboarding timeline, allowing Mackersy Property to capitalise on investment opportunities more efficiently.

The impact on payment processing has been equally as improved. "From a payment perspective, we've saved time no longer needing to triple-check all of our work to ensure accuracy," Bradley explains. "Once we adjusted to Caruso and gained that confidence in the calculation process, we now just need to ensure that registry changes are completed and Caruso takes over and performs what we need in terms of payment calculations." This automation has freed the finance team to focus on strategic analysis rather than manual computation.

Investor response has validated the technology investment. "Feedback from our investors was positive from the time we went live. We now have a vast majority of our investors actively using the portal," Bradley shares. "Our investors were happy to see that the portal not only displays portfolio information, but all associated documents can be found and they have access to their monthly distributions."

When asked to identify the single most significant improvement, Bradley doesn't hesitate: "Our biggest improvement is having a single source of truth throughout the unit registry, now used across all of our business units. It streamlined our processes and eliminated the need for manual internal reporting."

The platform's intuitive design has proven particularly valuable given Mackersy Property's diverse investor demographic. "I just love how intuitive it is. From not only the admin side, but the investor point of view. It's so user-friendly, intuitive, and anybody can use it. It's great," Bradley concludes.

By embracing Caruso's integrated approach to fund administration technology, Mackersy Property has successfully modernised their operations while maintaining the trusted relationships that have underpinned their success for 25 years. The result is a scalable platform that positions them for continued growth while delivering the transparency and efficiency their 2,800 investors expect from one of New Zealand's leading commercial property investment firms.