[2] Abacus was established in 1996 by an academic from the University of British Columbia, Dr Frank Wolf, listing on the Australian Securities Exchange in November 2002.

[5] The group's investment portfolio is divided into four divisions: office spaces, self-storage facilities, retail shopping centres and industrial properties.

[6] It also owns some historically notable buildings, such as the late art-deco Minerva Theatre near Kings Cross in Sydney.

[7] The group's asset portfolio is heavily weighted to office towers, such as 201 Elizabeth Street in Sydney, the Brisbane Club and RAA Place in Adelaide.

[11] While the group primarily invests in commercial property assets, such as office towers[12][13][14] most of its recent growth has been in self-storage units, a sector buoyed by the storage needs of Australia's growing e-commerce industry.