A job that aligns with your passion: Q&A with Cbus' new Head of Property Rhonda Spagnol
Rhonda Spagnol considers herself one of the 'lucky ones', having had the opportunity to pursue a career in property after starting out as a valuer and then moving into asset allocation. With a passion for the built environment and the "clear and focused purpose of the industry fund", she joined Cbus as head of property earlier this year and shares with us her predictions for the future of the property market, an important lesson learned from her previous role with JANA, and what she might just be doing if she wasn't doing this.
Rhonda Spagnol considers herself one of the 'lucky ones', having had the opportunity to pursue a career in property after starting out as a valuer and then moving into asset allocation. With a passion for the built environment and the "clear and focused purpose of the industry fund", she joined Cbus as head of property earlier this year and shares with us her predictions for the future of the property market, an important lesson learned from her previous role with JANA, and what she might just be doing if she wasn't doing this.
What attracted you towards Cbus?
I was extremely excited about the Cbus opportunity as I saw many areas of alignment including my skill set and values. I am attracted to the clear and focused purpose of the industry fund and the culture and collaborative approach of the team is exactly the sort of environment that I feel comfortable and happy working in. As a property specialist, I share Cbus' interest in the built environment and welcomed the opportunity to take on a new leadership role in the sector with a group that appreciates the unique nature of property and investing in unlisted, real assets.
What sparked your interest in becoming a property specialist?
When I enrolled in a Bachelor of Business (Property) at RMIT following high school, I honestly thought I was signing up to become a real estate agent and had visions of selling mansions in Toorak. As it turned out I became a commercial property valuer, entering the industry in 1993 when commercial property values were in the final stages of a steep decline following the boom and bust period of the late 1980's. Unfortunately, some of my earliest work centred around critically assessing the valuation assumptions undertaken at the peak of the market, as part of a legal process, to determine if such assumptions were reasonable at the time of valuation or if the valuer had been negligent. It was a somewhat rude introduction to the reality that property prices can fall, but it sparked my interest in the sector and I continued to work as a valuer for a number of years until I moved into asset consulting. Because of the property downturn, a number of people I studied with never got the chance to start their career in the sector at all and moved on to do other things, so I guess I was one of the lucky ones.
What predictions do you hold for the property market over the next 5-10 years?
It is a really interesting time to be involved in the property sector with a lot of new challenges and themes to navigate, such as technological driven changes, to how people shop, work and live etc. will impact real estate usage, and what flow on that has to the sustainability and risk of cash flows from different property sectors. Property has delivered very strong returns for a long stretch of time now with capitalisation rates back to below where they sat pre-GFC, so the question everyone is pondering is, if we have reached the peak of the cycle? And, if so, will the landing be hard or soft?
From your 17 years spent working with JANA Investment Advisers, what was one of the key lessons that you took away?
Over the many years that I spent with JANA I got the opportunity to work with an array of highly talented and diversely skilled people. I was constantly learning at JANA, which is one of the things that made it so interesting, and there have been a number of lessons learnt over that time, both financial and from a personal perspective. However, what has always stood out is the important lesson, or maybe message, that what we do in this sector (superannuation) impacts real peoples' lives and therefore we must always act with complete integrity.
What advice would you offer to an industry newcomer?
To recognise and remember that it is a privilege to be entrusted to look after members' retirement savings and to feel proud of the contribution you are making.
"What we do in this sector (superannuation) impacts real peoples' lives and therefore we must always act with complete integrity."
How do you maintain a work/life balance?
My three young children ensure that I maintain a healthy balance between work and family time. Actually, it is a little embarrassing to admit that my 10 year old has a substantially more active social life than me. Cbus is highly encouraging of supporting its team to find the right balance for them, with initiatives like flexible working and promoting a healthy lifestyle and workforce.
If you weren't working in finance, what would you like to be doing?
Over the years, I have developed a real passion and interest around governance so I think I would pursue a path that allowed me to get more involved in promoting good governance.
