Impact Blog – IMPACT COMMUNITY CAPITAL

By Paul Hwang

THE OPPORTUNITIES OF INVESTING IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING: PART 1.

Impact investing has grown beyond equity investments to include opportunities through fixed income investments. Along with green bonds, affordable housing investments are increasingly in the news and, not surprisingly at IMPACT, we believe the business case for these investments in appropriate circumstances, supports the buzz. In this blog and an upcoming companion, we’ll outline the opportunities presented by the affordable housing investments IMPACT pioneered 20 years ago. The state of mortgage-backed securities. A decade ago, loose lending standards, underwriting done on a pro forma basis, and high loan-to-value transactions in the mortgage-backed industry contributed to the economic crash of 2008. Since that time, U.S. financial markets are once again reaching record highs...

By Jeff Brenner

HOW COMMUNITY HAPPENS THROUGH IMPACT INVESTING.

Safe, affordable housing is the cornerstone of every community, but it does not make a community. A community needs healthcare, schools, jobs and many other goods and services. Nearly 20 years ago, IMPACT got its start financing affordable housing. But we knew that increasing the supply of quality, deeply affordable housing was not enough. We began thinking about how we might leverage our experience and investor base to create the other building blocks of communities. We had a great foundation from which to start. Since its founding, IMPACT has invested over $1 billion in affordable housing in 41 states plus D.C. We did this by creating a platform that allows us to...

By Michael Lohmeier

MOVING CAPITAL FROM WALL STREET TO MAIN STREET.

In our previous entries, IMPACT CEO Jeff Brenner and I highlighted the vast need for affordable housing across the United States and offered examples of new affordable housing developments IMPACT has financed to help alleviate the shortage. These examples illustrate the role we play in bridging the gap between Wall Street and Main Street. In our latest blog, I’d like to describe the nuts and bolts of our work by sharing three important components. These “differentiators” are what set IMPACT apart from the growing number of advisers new to the space. They are built upon a set of investment principles (Stewardship; Long-term Focus; Impact; Open-minded & Steadfast; and Opportunistic) which are the...

By Michael Lohmeier

ADDRESSING AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEEDS IN EVERY COMMUNITY.

A couple of weeks back, IMPACT CEO Jeff Brenner shared his point-of-view on the crisis of a lack of affordable housing facing America’s communities. Today, I would like to share my perspective by highlighting two new developments, financed by IMPACT, that are good examples of our efforts to alleviate the shortage of affordable homes—a challenge impacting communities of every size across the nation. According to ECONorthwest, 22 states plus D.C. did not build enough housing between 2000-2015. In fact, production fell short by 7.3 million units. The California Housing Partnership reports that workers in many San Francisco Bay Area communities need to make at least four times the minimum wage (nearly $50...

By Jeff Brenner

HOW COMMUNITIES HAPPEN: ADDRESSING AMERICA’S AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS THROUGH IMPACT INVESTING.

I am fortunate to come to San Francisco to work every day. From the views of the Golden Gate Bridge, to the amazing food and the technological innovation, this city is a wonderful mash-up of diverse experiences. But, I am struck by the stark contrast of opportunity with the homelessness that I encounter as I move throughout the city during the day. It is a heartbreaking challenge shared by nearly every city in our country and one impacting more people every day. The causes are many as are the people and solutions trying to address it. One thing is certain, we have to build more housing that is affordable to more people....