The beginning of Damian’s property investment journey
A professional property investor for over 30 years, Damian initially started his career in accountancy. It was through his role as a Chartered Accountant that he became inspired by the lessons he was learning from his clients – and particularly, their various successes in real estate investment. This ultimately led to Damian’s decision to leave the field several years later to pursue his dream of building his own property investment portfolio.
Establishing his real estate advisory
Discovering through his own experience the lack of support available to buyers throughout the property investment process, Damian wanted to impart the knowledge he’d gained through his own learnings to help others build wealth through real estate. In 2006, he established residential property investment advisory, Momentum Wealth, with the aim of providing holistic support to investors across the various stages of the property investment journey. Today, Momentum Wealth is an award-winning, full-service property advisory with over 60 team members spanning its strategy, finance, buyer’s agency, development and property management divisions.
Diversifying into syndicated investments
In 2015, Damian saw an opportunity to extend the MW Group’s offerings into syndicated investments. This led to the Group’s merger with well-reputed funds management company, Mair Property Funds – now known as Westbridge Funds Management. Westbridge provides experienced investors with the opportunity to diversify into the residential development and commercial property markets through managed property investment funds. Across his businesses, Damian has helped over 3,000 investors reap the rewards of property investment. Collectively, the MW Group now manages over AUD $2 billion in property and debt on behalf of its clients, with Westbridge Funds Management recently being named the third largest property fund manager in WA by Business News.
Penning the Property Investment Roadmap
After 20 years in the property investment industry, and 30 years of personal investment experience, Damian decided it was time to publish his life’s work in his book, Property Investing Roadmap: How to build an income from property for life.
The book is a testament to the many insights and lessons he’s learnt throughout his time in real estate.
Industry Advocacy
Damian has served as a passionate advocate for Australia’s real estate industry throughout his career. He served on the Council of the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) for over 12 years from 2011 to 2023 and was President of the Institute from 2018 to 2022. He also acted as Director on the REIA (Real Estate Institute of Australia) Board from 2021 to 2023, and continues to work closely with industry leaders to advocate for WA’s property industry. Damian remains a regular commentator in Australia’s leading property and news publications, frequently featuring in Business News, the Australian Property Journal, The West Australian and Money Magazine.
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Business from RMIT University in Melbourne
- Graduate Diploma in Property from Curtin University in Perth
- Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment through FINSIA
- Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia
- Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia
Follow Damian and his businesses below for his latest commentary on Australia’s real estate markets.