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A new property investment company involving some ex-Blue Chip advisers has started in Auckland.
Assetlab says it sees opportunity, despite the state of the property market and the stigma of the Blue Chip collapse.
Director John Watson said a group of people who had previously had agency arrangements with other property investment companies had decided to do their own thing.
Assetlab, incorporated in February, doesn't yet have a website, but has been cold-calling potential investors.
Watson said its business model was to find investment properties to suit individual clients. Those properties included Housing New Zealand stock.
"The next phase is to get some Australian stock and we'd also like to look at entry level commercial," he said.
Assetlab also hoped to move into helping first home buyers.
Watson said its product was "nothing at all like" the Blue Chip investment scheme. Assetlab had been offering its services for free to burnt Blue Chip investors such as arranging mortgage holidays.
Watson said Assetlab was not deterred by the slowing property market and high interest rates, believing interest rates would come down sooner than forecast.
"Don't get me wrong, it's not an easy time in the market at the moment, and there's a lot of people out there that are holding back, but then there's a lot of people as well that are keen to get on with it."
Watson said he and fellow director - Ty Jones, a former Blue Chip adviser - were both property investors themselves. The third director is chartered accountant Tim Fleming.
