Age: 49
Company Name: Realm Investment House
Position In The Company: Partner – Head of Structured Credit
Robert grew up in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, and as with most southern European working-class families, found jobs to earn pocket money where he could. His first job at the age of 12, was as a factory worker for $3ph.
An avid saver, he did his first stock purchase at the age of 16. A passion for financial markets led him to study economics and finance. His resourcefulness found him a placement at ANZ Bank within their treasury at the age of 22. Excelling in this role, gave him the opportunity to pursue broader opportunities.
In 1996 he joined Norwich Australia (Aviva Investors). He rose to Co-Head of Credit, specializing in Structured Finance. His recognition in these markets, saw him get invited to design and deliver workshops for the Australian Securitisation Forum (ASF). In 2007, Robert was the first investor to be invited to join the ASF board. He worked closely with the government and industry to contribute to the Global Restart initiatives for the global banking industry post-GFC. Robert was also instrumental to the domestic initiatives, with practical and long-lasting recommendations to the Australian Government and the Reserve Bank of Australia, many of which were re-visited during the pandemic.
Robert recently retired from the ASF board after serving for 12 years. During that tenor, he was privileged to Chair many working groups, and represent Australia on more than one occasion in global banking committees and forums. More recently, Realm was appointed special advisor to the Australian Office of Financial Management.
The realm was founded after he had left Aviva and several years consulting to the Australian banks and mortgage issuers. Realm is now 10- years old and is the leading Australian credit bond manager, having won multiple awards, with a strong investment and risk management focus. This is at the heart of its investment philosophy. Robert attests, that Realm’s success was via the complimentary skill sets, human capital diversity, and a selfless attitude to park the egos of the business partners. This cohesion has grown Realm to $2.5bln in FUM. This would not have been achieved by the three partners’ personal sacrifice and work ethic to build this great business.
Robert is the current Australian Spartan Trifecta record holder and the team co-captain. He played Australian Rules Football and a martial arts kickboxer in his teenage years. A professional life meant he put on 60kgs in his late 20s, weighing in at 140kgs by the time he reached his 40s. To put it bluntly, he was dying. Having been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, on 9 different tablets and a weekly injection, he decided in 2016 to make a change. He did a 5-day liver cleanse which saw him drink only pureed green fruits and vegetables followed by a 20 day fast, where he drank only winter and tea. Losing some 16kgs initially, in total he lost 30 kgs over a 3-month period. Robert is no longer a diabetic and qualified for the Spartan World Championships in 2018 in the age group.
Website URL: https://www.realminvestments.com.au/
Social Media Links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/40percentrule/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-camilleri-14149015/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/40PercentRule
