One of Canada’s largest public pension funds has agreed to buy an indirect minority interest in a major Australian non-bank lender.
Canadian pension plan OMERS has agreed to buy an indirect minority interest in Australian non-bank lender La Trobe Financial from majority owner Brookfield, adding another institutional investor to its shareholder base.
The agreement, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to complete by January 2027.
Brookfield will retain its majority holding, with OMERS joining it and Axight as institutional shareholders.
OMERS, one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans, has C$151.5 billion in net assets.
Neither the stake’s size nor its purchase price was disclosed.
La Trobe said that its management, strategy, investment philosophy and arrangements for managing investor funds would remain unchanged.
La Trobe Financial chief executive Chris Andrews described the incoming shareholder’s investment as an endorsement of the business and the people who had developed it.
“OMERS’ investment is a strong vote of confidence in La Trobe Financial, our people and the platform we have built over more than seven decades,” Andrews said.
Andrews added that the pension plan’s long-term approach aligned with La Trobe’s ambitions to expand its investment offerings in Australia.
“We are pleased to welcome another highly regarded, long-term institutional investor to our shareholder base,” he said
“OMERS shares our conviction in the growing opportunity to provide high-quality investment offerings to Australian investors, and its investment provides further support for the continued execution of our strategy.”
Brookfield retains control as ownership broadens
The agreement follows a minority investment announced in April by Axight, an Abu Dhabi-based private equity manager focused on Asia.
Brookfield acquired La Trobe in 2022 from US asset manager Blackstone and then-chief executive Greg O’Neill.
Andrews emphasised Brookfield’s continuing role in the business, crediting its operational support with helping La Trobe develop since that acquisition.
“Brookfield remains our majority shareholder and an important strategic partner. Its support, operating expertise and global perspective have contributed to the continued development of our business since its investment in 2022,” he said.
Growth spans lending and investment products
Assets under management have reached $27 billion, up from $22 billion at the end of 2025, with La Trobe now managing capital for more than 130,000 individual and institutional investors.
The company also reported average monthly net asset growth exceeding $500 million over the past six months and record monthly loan deployment of $1.5 billion.
With Brookfield’s operating support, La Trobe has also broadened its offering through a US private credit product and an Australian Securities Exchange-listed investment trust.
The lender further noted that it had upgraded systems to strengthen investor engagement, improve client service and increase operating efficiency.
“Together with Brookfield, Axight and now OMERS, we have an exceptional group of institutional shareholders aligned behind La Trobe Financial’s next phase of growth,” Andrews said.
“Our focus remains unchanged: delivering strong outcomes for our investors and borrowers, maintaining disciplined capital management and continuing to invest in our people, products and capabilities.”
The update comes amid a significant expansion in institutional funding for non-bank lenders.
Earlier this month, bridging lender Bridgit announced that Macquarie Bank’s Commodities and Global Markets Group had increased its existing facility.
Bridgit said facilities from lenders, including Citi and Macquarie, now totalled more than $1.7 billion, which it said was supported by sustained demand for its lending products.
[Related: La Trobe tops $25bn AUM landmark]
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