A year in the life of a graduate at Macquarie – Matt Foster's story

Matt Foster’s graduate year included learning about the complexities of fund finance and the opportunity to see how specialised disability accommodation changes lives.

I am a senior associate in Macquarie Specialised Investment Solutions, part of the Corporate and Asset Finance division. I studied a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) and Bachelor of Commerce (Finance).

As part of my role I assist in structuring and underwriting finance facilities for hedge funds, private equity funds and private credit funds. My role focuses on helping with loan documentation preparation, due diligence analysis, risk modelling, position monitoring, preparation of marketing materials and internal approval documentation.

I have rotated across a number of teams in Macquarie Specialised Investment Solutions, including Australian investment products (financial products), specialised asset origination and management (real assets), and more recently fund finance (lending).

During my graduate year I’ve really enjoyed the complexity of fund finance, and the tangibility and life-changing nature of specialised disability accommodation. I worked recently on a project in partnership with community housing providers. It was very rewarding to see the work of not-for-profit organisations, and to collaborate on some challenging issues.

This year I’m heading to New York for six months as part of the Macquarie Specialised Investment Solutions rotation program, where I’ll be working in the New York fund finance team.

Throughout the year I’ve been involved in the Graduate Development Program, which has enabled me to meet and network with peers in different roles. It also provided me with useful insights into the variety of work that Macquarie employees do.