Modern Platform, Meaningful Relationships: How BeGroup Transformed Investor Management with Caruso

Introduction: Redefining Retirement Living in New Zealand

BeGroup has established itself as a progressive force in New Zealand's retirement sector, developing modern villages that prioritize community, personal growth, and resident autonomy. Operating through a limited partnership structure with wholesale investors, BeGroup manages seven villages in their first fund and has recently launched a second fund with one asset. Their ethos of "doing things right" extends beyond resident care to how they manage investor relationships and fund operations.

"At BeGroup, we believe in equal and meaningful relationships, where residents have the opportunity to decide what living in retirement means for them," explains Angela Kneeshaw, CFO of BeGroup. This philosophy of respect and autonomy extends to their approach with investors, who deserve transparent, reliable access to their investment information.

The Challenge: Outdated Systems Creating Operational Friction

As BeGroup grew, they found themselves constrained by technology that couldn't keep pace with their expansion or meet the expectations of their investors. Their previous system for managing investor data was functional but presented several key limitations:

"We had a system that we used to hold our investor data, but we felt it was somewhat clunky and just not as modern as it could be and not as able to use new technology," reflects Kneeshaw. The outdated platform created several operational challenges:

• Limited integration capabilities hampered data flow between systems
• Heavy reliance on manual processes for compliance monitoring
• Difficulty retrieving historical documents and information
• Lack of self-service options for investors seeking their own documents
• Inefficient task management for compliance requirements
• Cumbersome approach to scaling as new funds were launched

The team recognized that these challenges would only intensify as they expanded. "As you grow, you absolutely have to rely on technology. There's no doubt. It's the only way forward," says Kneeshaw. "And you need to have a system that can grow with you."

The Solution: A Unified Investor Management Platform

BeGroup selected Caruso's platform to address these challenges and future-proof their operations. The comprehensive solution provided:

• Centralized Data Repository: Caruso provides BeGroup with a single source of truth for all investor information, eliminating data silos and reducing search time. "We hold everything in the system. It's all there in one place, so no one needs to go hunting for anything," explains Kneeshaw.
• Tailored Access Controls: The platform balances transparency with confidentiality through sophisticated permission structures. Investors access their personal documents while BeGroup shares fund-level information with all investors as needed. "If you're an investor and you want to find your tax statement from three years ago, just jump on the portal and everything's there," notes Kneeshaw.
• Automated Compliance Management: Caruso's built-in compliance system tracks expiration dates and regulatory requirements, automatically flagging outstanding tasks while maintaining audit trails. This reduces regulatory risk and administrative burden. "You've got an electronic record of who actioned that task and the documents they've relied on".
• Seamless Fund Expansion: The platform enables rapid deployment of new funds using established templates, reducing setup time and ensuring consistency. "When we did Fund Two, there was just nowhere else we were going to go. All the learning was done [from Fund One]. All the thinking was done," confirms Kneeshaw.
• Flexible Export Capabilities: Caruso combines a centralized database with powerful export tools for custom analyses and integration with other systems. "If I want to do some analysis, it's super easy to pull out the relevant data that I'm looking for," Kneeshaw appreciates.
• Expert Implementation Support: Caruso provided comprehensive onboarding assistance from industry specialists, ensuring a smooth transition. "Caruso was amazing. They really did hold our hand through the process," Kneeshaw shares.

The Results: Enhanced Efficiency and Investor Trust

The implementation of Caruso has delivered transformative benefits across BeGroup's operations and investor relations. Streamlined compliance management through automated task tracking ensures regulatory requirements are never overlooked, with comprehensive audit trails maintaining accountability and reducing risk. This systematic approach has significantly reduced the administrative burden while enhancing regulatory confidence.

The platform has also strengthened BeGroup's capital raising capabilities, becoming a compelling selling point during fundraising activities. "Part of our marketing and capital raising is to say to them [investors], look, we have a database of this fund available and this is how the portal works, and people know they'll be able to access information which is available to them at all times." explains Kneeshaw. Prospective investors are reassured by the professional, transparent approach to information sharing, which helps build trust during the capital raising process.

Day-to-day operations have become notably more efficient, with team members accessing precisely what they need through a single, intuitive administrative interface. BeGroup has been able to significantly reduce their administrative overhead by leveraging Caruso's investor services. This allows their team to offload routine but crucial tasks such as investor onboarding, document verification, and compliance monitoring, enabling BeGroup staff to focus on higher-value activities that drive growth and enhance resident care.

Perhaps most importantly, the platform has reinforced BeGroup's commitment to meaningful relationships with both residents and investors. "It just feels like we're all moving together, our business and our investor base—it feels like we're all moving in the right direction," concludes Kneeshaw.

By embracing Caruso's technology, BeGroup has created a foundation that supports their growth ambitions while maintaining the personal touch and operational excellence that distinguishes their approach to retirement living in New Zealand.