Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa June 2014 | Page 13

UPFRONT

T

im Murphy, founder and CEO of IP Global, a company that
helps investors invest in properties all over the world, has had
extensive experience over the last 20 odd years and is the author
of Turning Crisis into Profit: How to Make Money in Asian Property.

TIM MURPHY

Before establishing IP Global, Tim was the CEO of Dah Sing Life
Assurance in Hong Kong. His career had begun in London with
Prudential, and within 12 years was managing a sales force of 12 000
people across 800 branches. Tim was also influential in the Prudential
backed internet banking success, Egg. His academic achievements
include an MBA from City University, London and a sports studies
degree. He has also extensive media experience appearing on some of
the world’s biggest news and business news networks such as CNBC,
CNN, Bloomberg, Channel News Asia and the BBC in Hong Kong,
Singapore and London and is also a regular commenter on property
investment within Asia’s broadsheet press.

Marital Status: Married to Caroline

He got a taste for property investment when at the ripe age of 21 he
purchased his first property. “I purchased my first house in Chichester
in the UK which I lived in and rented rooms to my friends. I had been to
a seminar about how mortgage rate were at their lowest,” and according
to Tim, that is when his life changed.
“When I bought my first house, the British economy was gloomy, the
housing market was in the doldrums and a speculative attack on the
pound sterling had forced the Bank of England to unhook currency from
the trading band of the European Union’s Exchange Rate Mechanism.”
I achieved a 174% return on investment at the point of sale. By the time
I turned 23, I owned three properties and by the time I turned 30 I have
developed a portfolio of over 40 properties.”
At the time Tim realised that people tended to try minimise the risk
of investing in property, by investing in their own countries as a matter
of closer control.

Personal Statistics
Age: 44

Children: Two

Close-up
Mentors: Mark Tucker, CEO of AIA. He

gave me my first break in Asia and Mr
James Harry Sutcliffe, who gave me
my first break in Prudential.

Books: Lee Childs books for escapism

and PG Wodehouse for reality.

Most significant deal ever:

My smallest lot was the first one, it
got me going. My last deal was GBP50
million without the first it would
never have happened!
What would you still like to achieve:

IP Global still has a long way to go. So
we see global expansion as a priority.
Maybe one day I will buy a football
club!

Life Motto: I don’t really have one,

but if I did I would say it is always: Go
for it!

“Most people will only make an investment in their own country - in stocks, bonds and bank deposits, and
even more so in the case of property. That’s because people find their domestic market to understand. If you’re
buying a ‘big ticket’ item such as a house or apartment, you want to know if the economy is on the right track
and that’s easier to manage when you’re on the ground, reading local papers and talking to people about it. But
often the local property market isn’t necessarily the most lucrative. The economy could be depressed, with home
prices falling, interest rates could be high, you have to wait for a four-year cycle to have the market turn around.
Given this, why not consider other markets? This is how I started to look at other property markets to build my
property investment portfolio.”
“In the late 1990s, an overseas career move gave me exposure to other markets and I began investing abroad.
What began as a personal wealth management strategy turned into a business idea, supporting other individuals
who were looking to build a property portfolio outside of the market they were living in. I’d spent 13 years in the
insurance and banking industries, based in London, Korea and Hong Kong and that put me in a great position with an
www.reimag.co.za

June 2014 SA Real Estate Investor

11