Key Takeaways
- • Three industry veterans launch Civitas Capital Management in Sydney, combining expertise from Remara (Wilson and Velkovski) and iPartners private credit (Deitz) to target underserved lower mid-market private credit opportunities.
- • Firm targets market gap between institutional investors and smaller players, focusing on deal structures sized too small for major capital providers but too complex for retail-scaled investors, where Civitas identifies strong credit opportunities with premium return potential.
- • Currently serves high-net-worth clients and family offices, with near-term expansion planned through advisor channel partnerships via approved product lists (APLs) on platforms including HUB24 (already live), Netwealth, Mason Stevens, Praemium, and CFS Edge.
- • Founders cite competitive advantage in niche private credit segments, leveraging combined experience across multiple market segments and underwriting standards to identify lending gaps and opportunity sets overlooked by broader market participants.
Summary
Civitas Capital Management, a newly launched alternative investment firm based in Sydney, has entered the Australian private credit market with a focused strategy targeting the lower mid-market segment. The firm was co-founded by Timothy Wilson and Blake Velkovski, both formerly of Remara, alongside Haim Deitz, previously a private credit specialist at iPartners.
The three founders have identified a distinct market gap in Australian private credit: deals that are economically too small to attract institutional capital from major asset managers, yet sufficiently complex to exceed the capacity of smaller, less specialized investors. Velkovski described the positioning as targeting "the very underserved lower mid-market where the deals are maybe too small for the larger, institutional names, but at the same time, a little too complex for smaller scaled investors." The firm intends to generate returns by structuring complex credit arrangements with appropriate collateral coverage, effectively solving borrower challenges that larger competitors avoid.
Civitas is currently accepting capital from high-net-worth individuals and family offices. However, the founders are actively pursuing expansion into the financial adviser distribution channel, recognizing that advisers typically require investment vehicles to be listed on approved product lists (APLs) maintained by custodial and platforms. Wilson noted the firm is "already available on non-custodial with HUB24" and is actively in discussions with Netwealth, Mason Stevens, Praemium, and CFS Edge to secure additional platform placements.
The founders' competitive positioning rests on their collective experience across diverse private credit market segments and underwriting practices. Velkovski emphasized that their combined backgrounds enable them to identify where traditional lenders have withdrawn and where structured credit opportunities with attractive risk-adjusted returns persist. This thematic focus on underserved segments with strong credit fundamentals represents the firm's core differentiation strategy in an increasingly competitive alternative credit landscape.
The three founders have identified a distinct market gap in Australian private credit: deals that are economically too small to attract institutional capital from major asset managers, yet sufficiently complex to exceed the capacity of smaller, less specialized investors. Velkovski described the positioning as targeting "the very underserved lower mid-market where the deals are maybe too small for the larger, institutional names, but at the same time, a little too complex for smaller scaled investors." The firm intends to generate returns by structuring complex credit arrangements with appropriate collateral coverage, effectively solving borrower challenges that larger competitors avoid.
Civitas is currently accepting capital from high-net-worth individuals and family offices. However, the founders are actively pursuing expansion into the financial adviser distribution channel, recognizing that advisers typically require investment vehicles to be listed on approved product lists (APLs) maintained by custodial and platforms. Wilson noted the firm is "already available on non-custodial with HUB24" and is actively in discussions with Netwealth, Mason Stevens, Praemium, and CFS Edge to secure additional platform placements.
The founders' competitive positioning rests on their collective experience across diverse private credit market segments and underwriting practices. Velkovski emphasized that their combined backgrounds enable them to identify where traditional lenders have withdrawn and where structured credit opportunities with attractive risk-adjusted returns persist. This thematic focus on underserved segments with strong credit fundamentals represents the firm's core differentiation strategy in an increasingly competitive alternative credit landscape.
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