March 2, 2025 • 31 mins
Step into the world of ethical finance with our guest, Niaz Cannoth, whose remarkable journey reflects how financial investments can spark real change in communities. From his beginnings in Australia to becoming a leader in NDIS accommodation partnerships, Niaz demonstrates that success in finance goes beyond numbers. It's about uplifting those around us. He shares powerful stories of first-home buyers overcoming barriers, illustrating how tailored financial solutions create opportunities where none seemed possible.
Niaz's commitment to ethical investments shines through as he advocates for transparent and responsible real estate strategies. He believes in building an ecosystem where everyone, from investors to support providers, collaborates to enhance community well-being. Niaz's leadership style, grounded in trust and integrity, highlights the importance of engaging with others to achieve mutual goals.
This episode is a call to rethink our perceptions of finance and recognise that every investment can be an opportunity for social impact. Join us as we explore critical themes of leadership, community engagement, and ethical practices in finance. Let's work towards a future where we all flourish together—every conversation matters, and so does every connection we make. Remember to subscribe, share, and inspire others with these insights!
Thank you for listening!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Leon Goltsman (00:00):
Hello and welcome back to Engaging Conversations
wherever in the world you are.
I'm your host, Leon Goltsman,and it's always a pleasure to
have you here as we hit episode21,.
I just want to take a moment tothank each and every single one
of you, our listeners.
Your passion and support arewhat keeps us going every day,
and for that I'm truly grateful.
(00:21):
Now, today's episode is reallyspecial for more reasons than
one.
Not only do we have anincredible guest, but he's also
someone who has played a vitalrole in making conversations
like this possible.
A huge thank you to our valuedsponsor, Niaz Cannoth, principal
and Lending Specialist atInvest Intelligence, who also
happens to be our guest ontoday's show.
(00:44):
But here's the thing about Niazhe's not just the name behind
the business.
He's the person behind thevision, the one who supports
communities and the people whouplift them.
He's someone worthy of respect,not just because of the ideas
he stands for, but because hisactions back up every word.
From arriving in Australia 25years ago to becoming a
respected industry leader andcommunity advocate, nias has
(01:08):
built more than just asuccessful business.
He's built a legacy of trust,transparency and real social
impact.
His commitment to ethicalinvestment, particularly in
disability accommodation isreshaping the industry, ensuring
that success isn't just aboutfinancial returns, but also
about making a difference whereit matters most.
(01:29):
Beyond finance, his dedicationspeaks for itself mentoring
investors, simplifying complexNDIS frameworks and rolling up
his sleeves for social work.
Leadership for Niaz isn't justabout vision.
It's about taking action, andthat's exactly what we're
discussing today.
So, without further ado, let'sjump right in.
Niaz Cannoth (01:51):
Hi, I'm Niaz Cannoth.
I reside in Sydney.
I do finances and ethical NDISinvestments.
I migrated in 2009, did myMasters in IT in Melbourne RMIT
University, then pursued higherstudies again, did my MBA at UTS
.
I've been living in Australiafor the last 25 years.
(02:12):
I call this my home.
It's a great country to be in.
It provides so much opportunityfor people who migrate and my
journey has been absolutelyfantastic.
Initial years it was verychallenging being a student
trying to understand thecultural side of things, how I
would probably integrate intothe society where I live in.
(02:32):
But even the journey waschallenging.
I started adopting to the newculture, new values, new
lifestyle.
I'm married.
I have three beautiful kidsZain, zeeshan and Zaria.
I have a six-year-old daughter.
She has changed my life.
I've been in different sectorsbut for me the first thing was
to understand the Australianculture and value and I thought,
(02:56):
even though I did my master'sin IT and MBA, I just wanted to
connect with pure Australian wayof life, language, everything.
So I started as a customerservice representative.
I really chose that job becauseI wanted to connect with people
across Australia.
That gave me a good opportunityto talk to people in regional
(03:19):
towns across cities, engagingwith them, understanding, need
factors.
So being a customer servicegave me everything I wanted from
changing my slang to being inAustralia a little bit, the way
most of the people around inAustralia think about and that
(03:39):
gave me a good foundation.
So when I was doing my master's, that's what I did.
So when I was doing my master's, that's what I did Once I
graduated.
That's when I had myentrepreneurship mind came into
play.
I entered the world of finance.
At that point of time it's beenlike about 10 years.
The reason why I went intofinance was I saw a lot of
opportunity that a finance sideof things can provide to
(04:04):
everyday people.
When I myself wanted to getsomething like a house, I found
it challenging.
Every time some challengingthing presents I actually look
for a solution.
So I said, right, let me getinto finance and see what can be
done.
Leon Goltsman (04:20):
So, Niaz, your journey from finance to ethical
investment has always been aboutmore than just numbers.
What personal experiencesshaped your belief that finance
should serve a greater purpose?
Niaz Cannoth (04:32):
Finance provides a lot of freedom.
However, getting the right kindof finance makes a big
difference.
There was so much gap in termsof consultation, what kind of
finance the customers would liketo get.
That shaped myself to get intothe world of finance.
The more satisfaction thingabout finance was that I was
(04:54):
able to help the first-homebuyers specifically in the last
three to four years.
Finance helps us to help peopleto navigate through different
stages of life.
We have clients who are astuteinvestors.
We have clients who arefirst-home buyers.
As I mentioned before, thesatisfaction you get through
providing them the solution is.
A good example was a first-homebuyer couldn't get a house for
(05:17):
a long time.
We were able to get into thedetail of it, try and find out
the best possible solution andget them to buy the first home.
And not only that we engage inproviding them the right
opportunity to buy houses in theright areas, which actually
helps them not only move into itbut which would probably
(05:38):
appreciate in a year's time.
A good example has been we havegot a house for a client which
was about $600,000.
Today it's valued at $1 millionin three years time.
That all comes throughstrategic buying side of things
and providing them the rightfinance.
Leon Goltsman (05:55):
And there's also that sense of experience.
Niaz Cannoth (05:57):
Yes, anyone who wants to get finance in terms of
residential, which I specializein, they really need to
understand their objectives andrequirements.
Many brokers who are in themarket are not able to define
that objectives and requirements.
Once we get to know theobjectives and requirements,
that's when we go through aproper consultation and then
(06:18):
provide them the right solution.
Leon Goltsman (06:19):
And, niyas, you've been described as someone
who brings together alldifferent types of people, from
politicians, investors andcommunity leaders, to create
real change.
What drives you to connectpeople and build these bridges?
Niaz Cannoth (06:31):
It's about bringing all elements and
sectors together.
What I've learned through myexperience is you don't just
specialize in one field to makeit happen to you investors.
A good example is when westarted getting into NDIS
property development, Iidentified a great gap.
That is, building a greatproduct for investors is one
(06:56):
thing.
Then I realised, once that'sdone, there were so many gaps in
the market, such as we have towork with stakeholders such as
sales, sda providers, supportcoordinators and so on and so
forth.
Building a great product andfulfilling that requirement for
(07:19):
investors is one thing, or Icall it as ecosystem.
Building a proper ecosystemwhere all the stakeholders come
together and making a differenceis what I work towards.
Leon Goltsman (07:30):
Well, you certainly do that, and with that
, you've been able to not onlysee the different obstacles that
are ahead of you and otherpeople as well, but you also see
opportunities.
Can you share a time when youturned a challenge into a
transformative opportunity,whether in business, investment
or community development?
Niaz Cannoth (07:49):
When I got into SDA project management
development side of things.
There are certain things thatwe need to deliver for investors
.
First is identifying an areawhere we go through all the
demand analysis, which most ofthem do.
Most of the project managers,developers, get that done
(08:10):
because data is very transparent.
Ndia NDDIA provides those data.
Based on that you can godevelop whatever you want.
The most uncomfortable thing Ifound doing that alone was not
having the transparency on theother side.
Understanding demand throughdata analysis is one thing, but
(08:34):
breaking that down to a pointthat how that would relate into
a proper investment is the otherthing.
So a good example is when wewent to Mildura, that's in
Victoria, demand for SDAparticipant and building a SDA
investment property was quiteviable.
(08:54):
When we dug deep into it wefound that the participants, who
are the real stakeholders here,where we want to build
everything for them, were livingin dwellings, which was so
shabby.
I couldn't believe At thatpoint of time.
I met the former mayors of thetown to have a discussion about
(09:16):
what are the need factors inthose areas, what it looks like,
and then we met realparticipants to understand their
needs.
We put all those thingstogether and the most important
thing was to bring the mostvaluable stakeholders, that is,
standard disabilityaccommodation agencies was to
bring the most valuablestakeholders, that is, standard
(09:37):
disability accommodationagencies, sil providers, into
that region.
Do their own research on thedata that has been provided by
NDIA and get to the point thatis there a reason why we need to
take investors into that area?
That's number one, because theyare the stakeholders.
Can we engage SIL providers?
That's the second stakeholders.
(09:58):
Sda agency that's the thirdstakeholders.
The most important stakeholdersis participant.
We engaged all of them at thebeginning of the project.
We had a plan at the beginning.
Then we went to works.
Leon Goltsman (10:14):
You obviously put in a lot of attention to detail
and understand the audience,the target.
You get all the information, soyou can not only make
well-informed decisions, but youcan also recommend those
decisions and suggestions toother people.
Neaz, your work in NDIS,including the SDA and SILs, is
(10:35):
making a tangible impact on thelives of people with
disabilities.
What drew you to this sectorand what do most people
misunderstand about it?
Niaz Cannoth (10:43):
There are two or three different things we can
talk about here.
I know NDIA and the governmentencourages mum and dad or astute
investors to build SDAproperties.
That's because there are somuch demand for participants to
be moved out of legacy homeswhere they are just modified.
They live in there.
(11:04):
As I mentioned before, it's ina very shabby condition in many
ways.
Some of the participants are inthe hospitals for many months.
So I believe NDIA hasidentified that there is a need
for it and they encourage themom-and-dad investors our
student investors, as Imentioned to build houses and
(11:25):
they actually give great returnsIn terms of returns, I would
probably say, depending onregion to region.
If you build a four-bedroomhouse with three participants,
one care room, depending on thecategory, you can get $55,000 to
up to $80,000, depending on theregion.
(11:47):
Again, that's a great income.
So they encourage investors toget into that sector and they
reward for it.
But reward comes with risk.
This is where I want todifferentiate how I approach the
market altogether Pre-COVID, Ithink in 2014-15, that's when
(12:07):
all these things were introducedin terms of SDA housing
investors coming on board,queensland was the first adopter
.
At that point of time, I was notproject managing anything.
I used to get clients.
I was in finance sector, as youknow.
They would ask me Niaz, can youassist in getting a great
investment properties anywherein Australia?
(12:31):
Based on little knowledge atthat point of time, I used to
work with NDIS developers and Iwould say, yeah, I've done my
basic research and this looksgood.
This is the returns, andreturns are very transparent.
You can just go into the NDISwebsite and it will give you all
the details suburb wise, regionwise, what are the participants
(12:51):
, what it looks like, what not.
And as a developer, I can justshow that to any investors and
say, hey, there is a demand,just I'm building a property
there for X amount and youinvest this and your investment
returns is going to be threeparticipants into, let's say, on
average, $150,000 on highphysical support and investors
(13:13):
can just bite into it and getinto it.
That's what happened with acouple of investors I actually
referred to.
The challenge was, after thecompletion of the dwelling,
there are no participants movingin.
Who would they first call Me,not the developer, because I'm
(13:34):
the one who said it looks good.
I was not able to understandwhy, when so much demand through
a transparent source says thatyou can get participants but you
can't get anyone.
Leon Goltsman (13:46):
And this is the problem, a lot of people don't
delve deep enough or under thesurface.
They just see something, readit, and they just kind of take
it as gospel absolutely right.
Niaz Cannoth (13:55):
I don't blame the investors, because when you
present something to them fromthe data point of view, or the
demand point of view, or thehousing point of view, it looks
real and it's real, and I don'tblame the developers to to sell
something showing that, andthat's what everyone would do.
For me, it was a veryuncomfortable position to be in.
(14:19):
I said, no, this is somethingwrong there.
I have to dwell more into it.
That's when I really starteddoing my own R&D side of things.
What data means to investors,what data means to participants,
what data means to the otherstakeholders like CIL providers,
(14:40):
sda, who actually leases this,and what are the cross links
between all these stakeholders?
In my opinion, when I concludedconcluded, everyone has to play
a role.
You just can't build somethingand say that's done, I'm done
with it.
The demand is that it's not myproblem.
(15:01):
I believe project managers ordevelopers can't do that in my
term.
So that's when I said you knowwhat?
Let me do an end-to-endsolution, because I had so many
people still coming back to meand saying can we do something?
Can you show me where to investand what is the best thing?
I believe NDIS is theinvestment, if done right, is
(15:25):
the best thing you can ever getinto.
Leon Goltsman (15:27):
So you're clearly demonstrating some
responsibility and, most of all,integrity.
This is more or less your pointof difference, as well than
some of the others who justenter the market.
Niaz Cannoth (15:37):
Absolutely.
Again, I'll reiterate thatthere is nothing wrong with who
does what right.
It's about building ecosystem,ethical ecosystem Not that I
will get or anyone can get 100%right, but putting a body of
work and, as I mentioned before,building that ecosystem is the
most important thing and that'swhat we did in Mildura.
(15:59):
That was my first project right.
Leon Goltsman (16:02):
What we did was we looked at data and you've had
a few projects since then.
Niaz Cannoth (16:07):
Yes, I do, I do, but Mildura has been my favorite
thing because that's been myfirst.
And when you have done all thisR&D, you think that you have
learned everything and you cando anything you want to do, but
I'll explain the challengesafter that.
But the good thing is when youhave created that ecosystem to
(16:27):
bring all the stakeholders goingwith the demand, especially the
demand which you actually see.
It's transparent.
When I present something to youas an example, I show the data
which is available and there isno other data we go through.
But, as mentioned before, youcould see that interpret and say
, wow, this is great, I'm goingto invest my million dollar into
(16:48):
it.
I mean, you get finance andthat could be the beginning end
of it.
But if you have not worked withall the stakeholders I
mentioned from day one ofcurating this project, you will
fail 80% of the time, doesn'tmatter what the data says,
doesn't matter what it presentsto yourself, and so I suppose,
when people are going intosomething like this, it's always
(17:11):
better to come in knowing whatyou're getting yourself into and
suddenly having the rightpeople on your team.
Absolutely.
That's what I do with myinvestors.
I actually walk them throughthe data.
They say, oh, we have seen thatSomeone else presented this.
I get that.
I said there is more to it.
And then we walk through thechallenges they would
(17:32):
potentially have, irrespectiveof what they see.
We explain to them what are theminimum thing they can get out
of it, what is the maximum theycan expect out of it.
But the beauty is the ecosystemwe built and how we bring the
stakeholders from day one whenwe curate the project for a
specific area.
Leon Goltsman (17:49):
Nias, it's clear you've been a champion for
ensuring that regionalAustralians don't fall through
the cracks.
What financial and socialchallenges do these communities
face that often go unnoticed?
Niaz Cannoth (18:01):
I love regional areas.
Most of my projects are inregional.
I think the need factor forthis in regional is very, very
high.
I understand balancing theinvestor side of things.
I think the need factor forthis in regional is very, very
high.
Right, I understand balancingthe investor side of things.
At the same time, I would go toa regional area where the
(18:22):
demand for this kind ofinvestment building SDA property
exceeds supply.
I would look at if anyone hasdone anything there or not.
I work with SIL and SDAproviders in the local regional
area to understand the demandfactor, the social, responsible
(18:42):
side of things.
I think it falls with everyone,from the local politicians to
industry leaders in that area,the developers in that area, the
SIL providers, sda providers,as mentioned, the social
responsibilities.
I identify that as the mostimportant thing.
That's the reason I alwaysstress building an ecosystem
(19:07):
consisting of all these keystakeholders decision makers,
enablers, developers, serviceproviders coming together and
making a difference.
And the most biggest differenceor the most benefit which comes
out of this is to theparticipants.
That's, the participants.
Who requires a specializeddwelling?
(19:29):
I mean they need to be treatedwith respect, just like us.
I mean we have an open home, wewalk into it.
We have choices.
We say this house is betterthan that, this house is better
than that.
But as much as they need choice, we are the one we should drive
that and give them the best ofthe best they can get into.
Leon Goltsman (19:49):
This is why people trust you because of your
integrity and transparency.
How do you maintain that trustand ensure ethical standards in
all your dealings?
Niaz Cannoth (19:58):
Good question, very good question.
Transparency is the mostimportant thing in finance
ethical investment.
I always loved to be part ofthe community.
I dedicate my Friday half a day, every day of the week doing
some kind of social work.
A good example is I was theformer secretary of a school
(20:20):
with 1,500 students, and beingin that environment and working
towards the education sectorit's a non-profit school is
something that I love to do.
During the ravaging fireincident which took place in New
South Wales, I believe 2019-20,batemans Bay and all those
(20:45):
regions were ravaged completelydown.
This is something I would liketo say.
At that point of time, I wasgoing through a health crisis.
I was diagnosed with rectalcancer, stage three to stage
four progression.
During that time, I was goingthrough neoadjuvant therapy,
which is chemo and radiation,and I just can't believe.
(21:10):
At that point of time, when Iwas in the midst of doing the
radiation I think it was in thefifth or sixth week of doing
radiation we were able to getabout 20 volunteers women, men,
children as a part of a teamfrom New South Wales, we went to
Batemans Bay.
We coordinated with localcoordinators.
We were coordinating with allthe needy things which is
(21:35):
required.
We collected some money butrather than shopping here in
Sydney and taking everythingback there, we had a list of
things which is of immediateneed.
We went to Batemans Bay and wedid the shopping there so that
we can encourage the localretail.
Leon Goltsman (21:53):
Well, that speaks volumes about your character
helping communities, buildingcommunities, even the areas that
you don't live in yourself,being where the people need you.
You've obviously putting a lotof people first and you
understand people's needs.
Niaz Cannoth (22:10):
Absolutely, you wouldn't be able to understand
100% of the needs, but you haveto start somewhere.
I believe the best way to startis engaging with the local
community, providing them theplatform.
You have to create a platform,whether it's through an
association or working with anexisting association or
organization, being part of thatorganization and understanding
(22:33):
the local needs.
It's very important that youhave to get up, go there, be
there and then get things done.
Leon Goltsman (22:43):
So I suppose that's how you got into doing
what you're doing away fromfinance, just finance and
getting into NDIA propertydevelopment.
You've worked with a wide rangeof stakeholders, from
government bodies to familiesseeking life-changing support.
What have these experiencestaught you about leadership and
responsibility?
Niaz Cannoth (23:01):
A lot In the field I am in.
Leadership is essential.
It can come in any form orshape, but leading from the
front and providing the rightframework to give the best to
your investors or thestakeholders, which I explained
before, is very important andyou have to be in the forefront.
(23:27):
The subject matterunderstanding the environment,
understanding differentstakeholders you work with,
which I mentioned, understandingthe ever-changing dynamics in
that industry and thestakeholders.
You have to be a good leader.
If you don't, you will fallthrough the cracks.
That's what leadership means.
It's about understanding theculture, local culture, the
(23:49):
values, the requirements, thechallenges and having a plan and
a vision and being transparentwith the people you work with.
That's what leadership means tome.
Leon Goltsman (24:00):
Well, what I noticed about you and your style
of leadership is you lead byexample.
I've never seen you tell peoplewhat to do.
You show them.
That is the testament to yourcharacter.
Niaz Cannoth (24:13):
Absolutely.
I believe in empoweringindividuals.
It's such a strong word itseems like, but the empowerment
comes from trust and the trustcomes from the way you engage
with the people, differentindustry bodies, having that
comfort level in the engagement.
(24:35):
As I mentioned before,empowering is all about
leadership.
If I'm working with keystakeholders, of course it
starts from identifying them andthen trusting them.
After you identify and thenwhen they're part of the
ecosystem they are thespecialist in that field I need
to empower them to make decisionso that the end stakeholders,
(25:00):
the participants and theinvestors get benefit out of it.
Leon Goltsman (25:03):
You've certainly worked closely with politicians,
community leaders and lots ofinvestors.
What leadership qualities doyou admire in others and how
have they influenced your ownapproach For me?
Niaz Cannoth (25:16):
leadership is very dynamic.
You change leadership style orengagement based on the
scenarios and circumstances youare in and you want to deal with
.
You can't take one mindset ofleadership and say this would
fit for all purposes.
It just doesn't work.
The politicians and the leadersI've worked with the people who
(25:38):
lead best of the bestorganization, a non-profit
organization, who are communityleaders.
I've learned a lot.
It's a need factor that givesyou the best outcome from your
leadership.
Leon Goltsman (25:53):
So what I'm noticing is, and what you're
saying is, being flexible andadapting to different situations
.
Niaz Cannoth (26:01):
Absolutely, you have to.
I believe in that and I've seenthat making a big difference.
A good example would be myleadership when I engage with
investors.
It is different to when I showmy leadership when I'm engaging
with politicians or thestakeholders, like SIL, sda.
There's always a common elementwhich, as I said, empowerment,
(26:25):
trust and believing in thevision, and then you frame your
leadership around the vision andthe execution part of it.
Leon Goltsman (26:34):
So many people might be hearing your name for
the first time through thisconversation.
How would you like to beremembered by?
Niaz Cannoth (26:42):
I want to remember me as a trustworthy person, and
trust comes throughtransparency.
I want people to remember me asa visionary, whereby I
understand what we're doingtogether and integrity is the
most important part of it.
That is working with peoplefrom different walk of life,
(27:04):
bringing them together and benatural, be yourself and present
things the way you see it andexplain to them.
This is how I see things.
Can you be part of that?
Everyone would have differentvision For me.
Once I framework the vision,I'm very transparent about it.
This is what it looks like.
Let's be part of that systemtogether.
(27:27):
Any challenges, let's worktogether.
Any outcomes we get out of it,let's enjoy that outcome
together.
That's how I think I would loveeveryone to remember me as.
Leon Goltsman (27:40):
And so, niaz, looking ahead, what's next for
you?
What legacy do you hope toleave?
Not just in business, but inlife?
Niaz Cannoth (27:49):
The work we do is not about me or my organisation.
It has such a great impactacross sectors we deal with.
It helps the politician toenable the vision.
It helps the local industriesfrom the employment point of
view, everywhere we go we createjobs in the health sector,
(28:09):
which is such critical stuff.
It provides the participants ahome for 20 years.
I can imagine a world where wehave done the project, where the
participants not only enjoy thegreat environment to live in
but they are with their family,seeing their kids growing up,
because that's the environmentthey've never been in.
(28:30):
In my opinion, I've seen wherethey are at this point of time.
It creates engagement acrossdifferent sectors.
I've seen politicians admiringthe projects we have done
because it frees up the hospitaland the local industries, for
example, the SIL, the SDA.
(28:50):
In the local industry they getto engage with the development
we have done.
Basically, it creates a legacyfor a long period of time.
What my goal in my life is toempower people and give them the
best opportunity and fairchance to succeed in life.
Leon Goltsman (29:10):
Well, that's very , very admirable, and that is
why I've seen it firsthand, whyyou've earned your trust and
respect from people and, nias,I'm very grateful for all your
support that you've given us andtaking the time to speak with
me and connecting with ouraudience and helping everybody
else along the way.
(29:30):
So thank you so much, niaz.
Niaz Cannoth (29:32):
Thanks, Leon.
My pleasure to have a chat withyou and it's wonderful to be
here.
Leon Goltsman (29:39):
And that's a wrap on another incredible episode
of Engaging Conversations.
What an inspiring chat withNiaz.
His insights on leadership,integrity and making a real
impact really did hit home.
If there's one thing to takeaway from today's conversation,
it's that leadership isn't justabout having a vision.
It's about showing up, takingaction and lifting others along
(30:01):
the way.
Niaz's story is proof of what'spossible when dedication, trust
and community come together.
He reminds us that successisn't just about what we achieve
.
It's about the opportunities wecreate for others as well.
And that idea carries through toour next episode, where I'll be
sitting down with CherilynBeaver from Hunter Adult
Financial Collaborative.
(30:21):
We'll be talking about whygiving people a go isn't just an
Aussie value.
It's a powerful way to helpmore people like Niaz succeed
and, in turn, help others to dothe same.
If this episode resonated withyou, I'd love for you to be part
of the conversation, follow theshow, share the episode and tag
someone who'd appreciate theinsights.
(30:42):
Every connection we make, everyconversation we have.
It all adds up to somethingbigger.
A huge thank you to all of you,our listeners, our guests, our
sponsors and the amazing teambehind the scenes who make the
show happen.
I'm your host Leon Goltsman,and until next time, stay safe,
stay inspired and let's keepmaking a difference together.
Hello and welcome back to Engaging Conversations
wherever in the world you are.
I'm your host, Leon Goltsman,and it's always a pleasure to
have you here as we hit episode21,.
I just want to take a moment tothank each and every single one
of you, our listeners.
Your passion and support arewhat keeps us going every day,
and for that I'm truly grateful.
(00:21):
Now, today's episode is reallyspecial for more reasons than
one.
Not only do we have anincredible guest, but he's also
someone who has played a vitalrole in making conversations
like this possible.
A huge thank you to our valuedsponsor, Niaz Cannoth, principal
and Lending Specialist atInvest Intelligence, who also
happens to be our guest ontoday's show.
(00:44):
But here's the thing about Niazhe's not just the name behind
the business.
He's the person behind thevision, the one who supports
communities and the people whouplift them.
He's someone worthy of respect,not just because of the ideas
he stands for, but because hisactions back up every word.
From arriving in Australia 25years ago to becoming a
respected industry leader andcommunity advocate, nias has
(01:08):
built more than just asuccessful business.
He's built a legacy of trust,transparency and real social
impact.
His commitment to ethicalinvestment, particularly in
disability accommodation isreshaping the industry, ensuring
that success isn't just aboutfinancial returns, but also
about making a difference whereit matters most.
(01:29):
Beyond finance, his dedicationspeaks for itself mentoring
investors, simplifying complexNDIS frameworks and rolling up
his sleeves for social work.
Leadership for Niaz isn't justabout vision.
It's about taking action, andthat's exactly what we're
discussing today.
So, without further ado, let'sjump right in.
Niaz Cannoth (01:51):
Hi, I'm Niaz Cannoth.
I reside in Sydney.
I do finances and ethical NDISinvestments.
I migrated in 2009, did myMasters in IT in Melbourne RMIT
University, then pursued higherstudies again, did my MBA at UTS
.
I've been living in Australiafor the last 25 years.
(02:12):
I call this my home.
It's a great country to be in.
It provides so much opportunityfor people who migrate and my
journey has been absolutelyfantastic.
Initial years it was verychallenging being a student
trying to understand thecultural side of things, how I
would probably integrate intothe society where I live in.
(02:32):
But even the journey waschallenging.
I started adopting to the newculture, new values, new
lifestyle.
I'm married.
I have three beautiful kidsZain, zeeshan and Zaria.
I have a six-year-old daughter.
She has changed my life.
I've been in different sectorsbut for me the first thing was
to understand the Australianculture and value and I thought,
(02:56):
even though I did my master'sin IT and MBA, I just wanted to
connect with pure Australian wayof life, language, everything.
So I started as a customerservice representative.
I really chose that job becauseI wanted to connect with people
across Australia.
That gave me a good opportunityto talk to people in regional
(03:19):
towns across cities, engagingwith them, understanding, need
factors.
So being a customer servicegave me everything I wanted from
changing my slang to being inAustralia a little bit, the way
most of the people around inAustralia think about and that
(03:39):
gave me a good foundation.
So when I was doing my master's, that's what I did.
So when I was doing my master's, that's what I did Once I
graduated.
That's when I had myentrepreneurship mind came into
play.
I entered the world of finance.
At that point of time it's beenlike about 10 years.
The reason why I went intofinance was I saw a lot of
opportunity that a finance sideof things can provide to
(04:04):
everyday people.
When I myself wanted to getsomething like a house, I found
it challenging.
Every time some challengingthing presents I actually look
for a solution.
So I said, right, let me getinto finance and see what can be
done.
Leon Goltsman (04:20):
So, Niaz, your journey from finance to ethical
investment has always been aboutmore than just numbers.
What personal experiencesshaped your belief that finance
should serve a greater purpose?
Niaz Cannoth (04:32):
Finance provides a lot of freedom.
However, getting the right kindof finance makes a big
difference.
There was so much gap in termsof consultation, what kind of
finance the customers would liketo get.
That shaped myself to get intothe world of finance.
The more satisfaction thingabout finance was that I was
(04:54):
able to help the first-homebuyers specifically in the last
three to four years.
Finance helps us to help peopleto navigate through different
stages of life.
We have clients who are astuteinvestors.
We have clients who arefirst-home buyers.
As I mentioned before, thesatisfaction you get through
providing them the solution is.
A good example was a first-homebuyer couldn't get a house for
(05:17):
a long time.
We were able to get into thedetail of it, try and find out
the best possible solution andget them to buy the first home.
And not only that we engage inproviding them the right
opportunity to buy houses in theright areas, which actually
helps them not only move into itbut which would probably
(05:38):
appreciate in a year's time.
A good example has been we havegot a house for a client which
was about $600,000.
Today it's valued at $1 millionin three years time.
That all comes throughstrategic buying side of things
and providing them the rightfinance.
Leon Goltsman (05:55):
And there's also that sense of experience.
Niaz Cannoth (05:57):
Yes, anyone who wants to get finance in terms of
residential, which I specializein, they really need to
understand their objectives andrequirements.
Many brokers who are in themarket are not able to define
that objectives and requirements.
Once we get to know theobjectives and requirements,
that's when we go through aproper consultation and then
(06:18):
provide them the right solution.
Leon Goltsman (06:19):
And, niyas, you've been described as someone
who brings together alldifferent types of people, from
politicians, investors andcommunity leaders, to create
real change.
What drives you to connectpeople and build these bridges?
Niaz Cannoth (06:31):
It's about bringing all elements and
sectors together.
What I've learned through myexperience is you don't just
specialize in one field to makeit happen to you investors.
A good example is when westarted getting into NDIS
property development, Iidentified a great gap.
That is, building a greatproduct for investors is one
(06:56):
thing.
Then I realised, once that'sdone, there were so many gaps in
the market, such as we have towork with stakeholders such as
sales, sda providers, supportcoordinators and so on and so
forth.
Building a great product andfulfilling that requirement for
(07:19):
investors is one thing, or Icall it as ecosystem.
Building a proper ecosystemwhere all the stakeholders come
together and making a differenceis what I work towards.
Leon Goltsman (07:30):
Well, you certainly do that, and with that
, you've been able to not onlysee the different obstacles that
are ahead of you and otherpeople as well, but you also see
opportunities.
Can you share a time when youturned a challenge into a
transformative opportunity,whether in business, investment
or community development?
Niaz Cannoth (07:49):
When I got into SDA project management
development side of things.
There are certain things thatwe need to deliver for investors
.
First is identifying an areawhere we go through all the
demand analysis, which most ofthem do.
Most of the project managers,developers, get that done
(08:10):
because data is very transparent.
Ndia NDDIA provides those data.
Based on that you can godevelop whatever you want.
The most uncomfortable thing Ifound doing that alone was not
having the transparency on theother side.
Understanding demand throughdata analysis is one thing, but
(08:34):
breaking that down to a pointthat how that would relate into
a proper investment is the otherthing.
So a good example is when wewent to Mildura, that's in
Victoria, demand for SDAparticipant and building a SDA
investment property was quiteviable.
(08:54):
When we dug deep into it wefound that the participants, who
are the real stakeholders here,where we want to build
everything for them, were livingin dwellings, which was so
shabby.
I couldn't believe At thatpoint of time.
I met the former mayors of thetown to have a discussion about
(09:16):
what are the need factors inthose areas, what it looks like,
and then we met realparticipants to understand their
needs.
We put all those thingstogether and the most important
thing was to bring the mostvaluable stakeholders, that is,
standard disabilityaccommodation agencies was to
bring the most valuablestakeholders, that is, standard
(09:37):
disability accommodationagencies, sil providers, into
that region.
Do their own research on thedata that has been provided by
NDIA and get to the point thatis there a reason why we need to
take investors into that area?
That's number one, because theyare the stakeholders.
Can we engage SIL providers?
That's the second stakeholders.
(09:58):
Sda agency that's the thirdstakeholders.
The most important stakeholdersis participant.
We engaged all of them at thebeginning of the project.
We had a plan at the beginning.
Then we went to works.
Leon Goltsman (10:14):
You obviously put in a lot of attention to detail
and understand the audience,the target.
You get all the information, soyou can not only make
well-informed decisions, but youcan also recommend those
decisions and suggestions toother people.
Neaz, your work in NDIS,including the SDA and SILs, is
(10:35):
making a tangible impact on thelives of people with
disabilities.
What drew you to this sectorand what do most people
misunderstand about it?
Niaz Cannoth (10:43):
There are two or three different things we can
talk about here.
I know NDIA and the governmentencourages mum and dad or astute
investors to build SDAproperties.
That's because there are somuch demand for participants to
be moved out of legacy homeswhere they are just modified.
They live in there.
(11:04):
As I mentioned before, it's ina very shabby condition in many
ways.
Some of the participants are inthe hospitals for many months.
So I believe NDIA hasidentified that there is a need
for it and they encourage themom-and-dad investors our
student investors, as Imentioned to build houses and
(11:25):
they actually give great returnsIn terms of returns, I would
probably say, depending onregion to region.
If you build a four-bedroomhouse with three participants,
one care room, depending on thecategory, you can get $55,000 to
up to $80,000, depending on theregion.
(11:47):
Again, that's a great income.
So they encourage investors toget into that sector and they
reward for it.
But reward comes with risk.
This is where I want todifferentiate how I approach the
market altogether Pre-COVID, Ithink in 2014-15, that's when
(12:07):
all these things were introducedin terms of SDA housing
investors coming on board,queensland was the first adopter
.
At that point of time, I was notproject managing anything.
I used to get clients.
I was in finance sector, as youknow.
They would ask me Niaz, can youassist in getting a great
investment properties anywherein Australia?
(12:31):
Based on little knowledge atthat point of time, I used to
work with NDIS developers and Iwould say, yeah, I've done my
basic research and this looksgood.
This is the returns, andreturns are very transparent.
You can just go into the NDISwebsite and it will give you all
the details suburb wise, regionwise, what are the participants
(12:51):
, what it looks like, what not.
And as a developer, I can justshow that to any investors and
say, hey, there is a demand,just I'm building a property
there for X amount and youinvest this and your investment
returns is going to be threeparticipants into, let's say, on
average, $150,000 on highphysical support and investors
(13:13):
can just bite into it and getinto it.
That's what happened with acouple of investors I actually
referred to.
The challenge was, after thecompletion of the dwelling,
there are no participants movingin.
Who would they first call Me,not the developer, because I'm
(13:34):
the one who said it looks good.
I was not able to understandwhy, when so much demand through
a transparent source says thatyou can get participants but you
can't get anyone.
Leon Goltsman (13:46):
And this is the problem, a lot of people don't
delve deep enough or under thesurface.
They just see something, readit, and they just kind of take
it as gospel absolutely right.
Niaz Cannoth (13:55):
I don't blame the investors, because when you
present something to them fromthe data point of view, or the
demand point of view, or thehousing point of view, it looks
real and it's real, and I don'tblame the developers to to sell
something showing that, andthat's what everyone would do.
For me, it was a veryuncomfortable position to be in.
(14:19):
I said, no, this is somethingwrong there.
I have to dwell more into it.
That's when I really starteddoing my own R&D side of things.
What data means to investors,what data means to participants,
what data means to the otherstakeholders like CIL providers,
(14:40):
sda, who actually leases this,and what are the cross links
between all these stakeholders?
In my opinion, when I concludedconcluded, everyone has to play
a role.
You just can't build somethingand say that's done, I'm done
with it.
The demand is that it's not myproblem.
(15:01):
I believe project managers ordevelopers can't do that in my
term.
So that's when I said you knowwhat?
Let me do an end-to-endsolution, because I had so many
people still coming back to meand saying can we do something?
Can you show me where to investand what is the best thing?
I believe NDIS is theinvestment, if done right, is
(15:25):
the best thing you can ever getinto.
Leon Goltsman (15:27):
So you're clearly demonstrating some
responsibility and, most of all,integrity.
This is more or less your pointof difference, as well than
some of the others who justenter the market.
Niaz Cannoth (15:37):
Absolutely.
Again, I'll reiterate thatthere is nothing wrong with who
does what right.
It's about building ecosystem,ethical ecosystem Not that I
will get or anyone can get 100%right, but putting a body of
work and, as I mentioned before,building that ecosystem is the
most important thing and that'swhat we did in Mildura.
(15:59):
That was my first project right.
Leon Goltsman (16:02):
What we did was we looked at data and you've had
a few projects since then.
Niaz Cannoth (16:07):
Yes, I do, I do, but Mildura has been my favorite
thing because that's been myfirst.
And when you have done all thisR&D, you think that you have
learned everything and you cando anything you want to do, but
I'll explain the challengesafter that.
But the good thing is when youhave created that ecosystem to
(16:27):
bring all the stakeholders goingwith the demand, especially the
demand which you actually see.
It's transparent.
When I present something to youas an example, I show the data
which is available and there isno other data we go through.
But, as mentioned before, youcould see that interpret and say
, wow, this is great, I'm goingto invest my million dollar into
(16:48):
it.
I mean, you get finance andthat could be the beginning end
of it.
But if you have not worked withall the stakeholders I
mentioned from day one ofcurating this project, you will
fail 80% of the time, doesn'tmatter what the data says,
doesn't matter what it presentsto yourself, and so I suppose,
when people are going intosomething like this, it's always
(17:11):
better to come in knowing whatyou're getting yourself into and
suddenly having the rightpeople on your team.
Absolutely.
That's what I do with myinvestors.
I actually walk them throughthe data.
They say, oh, we have seen thatSomeone else presented this.
I get that.
I said there is more to it.
And then we walk through thechallenges they would
(17:32):
potentially have, irrespectiveof what they see.
We explain to them what are theminimum thing they can get out
of it, what is the maximum theycan expect out of it.
But the beauty is the ecosystemwe built and how we bring the
stakeholders from day one whenwe curate the project for a
specific area.
Leon Goltsman (17:49):
Nias, it's clear you've been a champion for
ensuring that regionalAustralians don't fall through
the cracks.
What financial and socialchallenges do these communities
face that often go unnoticed?
Niaz Cannoth (18:01):
I love regional areas.
Most of my projects are inregional.
I think the need factor forthis in regional is very, very
high.
I understand balancing theinvestor side of things.
I think the need factor forthis in regional is very, very
high.
Right, I understand balancingthe investor side of things.
At the same time, I would go toa regional area where the
(18:22):
demand for this kind ofinvestment building SDA property
exceeds supply.
I would look at if anyone hasdone anything there or not.
I work with SIL and SDAproviders in the local regional
area to understand the demandfactor, the social, responsible
(18:42):
side of things.
I think it falls with everyone,from the local politicians to
industry leaders in that area,the developers in that area, the
SIL providers, sda providers,as mentioned, the social
responsibilities.
I identify that as the mostimportant thing.
That's the reason I alwaysstress building an ecosystem
(19:07):
consisting of all these keystakeholders decision makers,
enablers, developers, serviceproviders coming together and
making a difference.
And the most biggest differenceor the most benefit which comes
out of this is to theparticipants.
That's, the participants.
Who requires a specializeddwelling?
(19:29):
I mean they need to be treatedwith respect, just like us.
I mean we have an open home, wewalk into it.
We have choices.
We say this house is betterthan that, this house is better
than that.
But as much as they need choice, we are the one we should drive
that and give them the best ofthe best they can get into.
Leon Goltsman (19:49):
This is why people trust you because of your
integrity and transparency.
How do you maintain that trustand ensure ethical standards in
all your dealings?
Niaz Cannoth (19:58):
Good question, very good question.
Transparency is the mostimportant thing in finance
ethical investment.
I always loved to be part ofthe community.
I dedicate my Friday half a day, every day of the week doing
some kind of social work.
A good example is I was theformer secretary of a school
(20:20):
with 1,500 students, and beingin that environment and working
towards the education sectorit's a non-profit school is
something that I love to do.
During the ravaging fireincident which took place in New
South Wales, I believe 2019-20,batemans Bay and all those
(20:45):
regions were ravaged completelydown.
This is something I would liketo say.
At that point of time, I wasgoing through a health crisis.
I was diagnosed with rectalcancer, stage three to stage
four progression.
During that time, I was goingthrough neoadjuvant therapy,
which is chemo and radiation,and I just can't believe.
(21:10):
At that point of time, when Iwas in the midst of doing the
radiation I think it was in thefifth or sixth week of doing
radiation we were able to getabout 20 volunteers women, men,
children as a part of a teamfrom New South Wales, we went to
Batemans Bay.
We coordinated with localcoordinators.
We were coordinating with allthe needy things which is
(21:35):
required.
We collected some money butrather than shopping here in
Sydney and taking everythingback there, we had a list of
things which is of immediateneed.
We went to Batemans Bay and wedid the shopping there so that
we can encourage the localretail.
Leon Goltsman (21:53):
Well, that speaks volumes about your character
helping communities, buildingcommunities, even the areas that
you don't live in yourself,being where the people need you.
You've obviously putting a lotof people first and you
understand people's needs.
Niaz Cannoth (22:10):
Absolutely, you wouldn't be able to understand
100% of the needs, but you haveto start somewhere.
I believe the best way to startis engaging with the local
community, providing them theplatform.
You have to create a platform,whether it's through an
association or working with anexisting association or
organization, being part of thatorganization and understanding
(22:33):
the local needs.
It's very important that youhave to get up, go there, be
there and then get things done.
Leon Goltsman (22:43):
So I suppose that's how you got into doing
what you're doing away fromfinance, just finance and
getting into NDIA propertydevelopment.
You've worked with a wide rangeof stakeholders, from
government bodies to familiesseeking life-changing support.
What have these experiencestaught you about leadership and
responsibility?
Niaz Cannoth (23:01):
A lot In the field I am in.
Leadership is essential.
It can come in any form orshape, but leading from the
front and providing the rightframework to give the best to
your investors or thestakeholders, which I explained
before, is very important andyou have to be in the forefront.
(23:27):
The subject matterunderstanding the environment,
understanding differentstakeholders you work with,
which I mentioned, understandingthe ever-changing dynamics in
that industry and thestakeholders.
You have to be a good leader.
If you don't, you will fallthrough the cracks.
That's what leadership means.
It's about understanding theculture, local culture, the
(23:49):
values, the requirements, thechallenges and having a plan and
a vision and being transparentwith the people you work with.
That's what leadership means tome.
Leon Goltsman (24:00):
Well, what I noticed about you and your style
of leadership is you lead byexample.
I've never seen you tell peoplewhat to do.
You show them.
That is the testament to yourcharacter.
Niaz Cannoth (24:13):
Absolutely.
I believe in empoweringindividuals.
It's such a strong word itseems like, but the empowerment
comes from trust and the trustcomes from the way you engage
with the people, differentindustry bodies, having that
comfort level in the engagement.
(24:35):
As I mentioned before,empowering is all about
leadership.
If I'm working with keystakeholders, of course it
starts from identifying them andthen trusting them.
After you identify and thenwhen they're part of the
ecosystem they are thespecialist in that field I need
to empower them to make decisionso that the end stakeholders,
(25:00):
the participants and theinvestors get benefit out of it.
Leon Goltsman (25:03):
You've certainly worked closely with politicians,
community leaders and lots ofinvestors.
What leadership qualities doyou admire in others and how
have they influenced your ownapproach For me?
Niaz Cannoth (25:16):
leadership is very dynamic.
You change leadership style orengagement based on the
scenarios and circumstances youare in and you want to deal with
.
You can't take one mindset ofleadership and say this would
fit for all purposes.
It just doesn't work.
The politicians and the leadersI've worked with the people who
(25:38):
lead best of the bestorganization, a non-profit
organization, who are communityleaders.
I've learned a lot.
It's a need factor that givesyou the best outcome from your
leadership.
Leon Goltsman (25:53):
So what I'm noticing is, and what you're
saying is, being flexible andadapting to different situations
.
Niaz Cannoth (26:01):
Absolutely, you have to.
I believe in that and I've seenthat making a big difference.
A good example would be myleadership when I engage with
investors.
It is different to when I showmy leadership when I'm engaging
with politicians or thestakeholders, like SIL, sda.
There's always a common elementwhich, as I said, empowerment,
(26:25):
trust and believing in thevision, and then you frame your
leadership around the vision andthe execution part of it.
Leon Goltsman (26:34):
So many people might be hearing your name for
the first time through thisconversation.
How would you like to beremembered by?
Niaz Cannoth (26:42):
I want to remember me as a trustworthy person, and
trust comes throughtransparency.
I want people to remember me asa visionary, whereby I
understand what we're doingtogether and integrity is the
most important part of it.
That is working with peoplefrom different walk of life,
(27:04):
bringing them together and benatural, be yourself and present
things the way you see it andexplain to them.
This is how I see things.
Can you be part of that?
Everyone would have differentvision For me.
Once I framework the vision,I'm very transparent about it.
This is what it looks like.
Let's be part of that systemtogether.
(27:27):
Any challenges, let's worktogether.
Any outcomes we get out of it,let's enjoy that outcome
together.
That's how I think I would loveeveryone to remember me as.
Leon Goltsman (27:40):
And so, niaz, looking ahead, what's next for
you?
What legacy do you hope toleave?
Not just in business, but inlife?
Niaz Cannoth (27:49):
The work we do is not about me or my organisation.
It has such a great impactacross sectors we deal with.
It helps the politician toenable the vision.
It helps the local industriesfrom the employment point of
view, everywhere we go we createjobs in the health sector,
(28:09):
which is such critical stuff.
It provides the participants ahome for 20 years.
I can imagine a world where wehave done the project, where the
participants not only enjoy thegreat environment to live in
but they are with their family,seeing their kids growing up,
because that's the environmentthey've never been in.
(28:30):
In my opinion, I've seen wherethey are at this point of time.
It creates engagement acrossdifferent sectors.
I've seen politicians admiringthe projects we have done
because it frees up the hospitaland the local industries, for
example, the SIL, the SDA.
(28:50):
In the local industry they getto engage with the development
we have done.
Basically, it creates a legacyfor a long period of time.
What my goal in my life is toempower people and give them the
best opportunity and fairchance to succeed in life.
Leon Goltsman (29:10):
Well, that's very , very admirable, and that is
why I've seen it firsthand, whyyou've earned your trust and
respect from people and, nias,I'm very grateful for all your
support that you've given us andtaking the time to speak with
me and connecting with ouraudience and helping everybody
else along the way.
(29:30):
So thank you so much, niaz.
Niaz Cannoth (29:32):
Thanks, Leon.
My pleasure to have a chat withyou and it's wonderful to be
here.
Leon Goltsman (29:39):
And that's a wrap on another incredible episode
of Engaging Conversations.
What an inspiring chat withNiaz.
His insights on leadership,integrity and making a real
impact really did hit home.
If there's one thing to takeaway from today's conversation,
it's that leadership isn't justabout having a vision.
It's about showing up, takingaction and lifting others along
(30:01):
the way.
Niaz's story is proof of what'spossible when dedication, trust
and community come together.
He reminds us that successisn't just about what we achieve
.
It's about the opportunities wecreate for others as well.
And that idea carries through toour next episode, where I'll be
sitting down with CherilynBeaver from Hunter Adult
Financial Collaborative.
(30:21):
We'll be talking about whygiving people a go isn't just an
Aussie value.
It's a powerful way to helpmore people like Niaz succeed
and, in turn, help others to dothe same.
If this episode resonated withyou, I'd love for you to be part
of the conversation, follow theshow, share the episode and tag
someone who'd appreciate theinsights.
(30:42):
Every connection we make, everyconversation we have.
It all adds up to somethingbigger.
A huge thank you to all of you,our listeners, our guests, our
sponsors and the amazing teambehind the scenes who make the
show happen.
I'm your host Leon Goltsman,and until next time, stay safe,
stay inspired and let's keepmaking a difference together.
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