Goodman proposal is a $500m “vote of confidence in NZ”

In the past, when I've taken the managers of externally-managed listed property vehicles to task for abusing investors, I've compared them to how Goodman Property Trust has been managed – it's been the example of how it ought to be done.

Because Goodman's manager has a long track-record of treating investors in the trust fairly, as well as a proven record of deftly executing the trust's strategy of buying, managing and developing industrial property in Auckland.

The trust's portfolio is now worth about $4.5 billion and it is New Zealand's largest listed property vehicle.

Don't get me wrong – the manager has extracted its own pound of flesh from the trust, but it has managed to do so while still allowing investors to feel well-rewarded for providing their capital and without any evidence that they were being unduly exploited.

The definition of win-win.