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Featured: Deal of the Day
Impact investors seek to steer institutional capital toward affordable-housing finance. Multi-family housing has been among the most stable asset classes in U.S. real estate in recent years, and “affordable” has been among the most stable parts of the multi-family market. That is attracting the attention of investors seeking steady yields in volatile times. “People with low incomes don’t jump around,” says Jeff Brenner, CEO of Impact Community Capital, in San Francisco, which has made about half of its $1.9 billion in investments in affordable housing.
Investor demand means opportunities for impact fund managers to attract capital to build or preserve sorely needed affordable units. Impact Community Capital, founded and owned by major insurance companies, has raised a dozen private-debt and equity funds and leveraged assets through securitized affordable-housing mortgages. The firm says it has financed 45,000 units. The Bristol, a 96-unit development for families earning up to 60% of the median-income level, recently opened in San Antonio. Construction crews have broken ground on Village Circle, an 84-unit development In Denton, Maryland. “There’s a place for impact investing in solving this problem,” Brenner toldImpactAlpha.
Read, “Impact investors seek to steer institutional capital toward affordable-housing finance,” by Jessica Pothering on ImpactAlpha.
Dealflow: Follow the Money
Baltimore Community Foundation launches impact fund. The Invest for More fund will invest in affordable housing, community preservation and green projects in the Baltimore region. Get the details.
Gates Foundation, corporations back Stellapps’ dairy monitoring tools.The company makes systems — including a variety of sensors — to improve transparency and efficiency along India’s milk supply chain. Read more.
Click here for more ImpactAlpha dealflow. Send deal tips and news to [email protected].
Agents of Impact Conference Call No. 1, Thursday June 7
Money is starting to move. From private-equity to corporate impact to pension and sovereign wealth funds, impact investing is all the buzz. The Global Impact Investing Network’s latest survey found $282 billion in impact assets under management, twice as much as last year’s survey. Does reality match the hype? What are the perils? Is there a tipping point? Where is the impact? Join ImpactAlpha’s David Bank and Dennis Price and other Agents of Impact on The Call, ImpactAlpha’s
Signals: Ahead of the Curve
Electric-vehicle charging-infrastructure finance emerges. Battery-powered cars are the new cool for car owners. Sales are climbing thanks to longer-range batteries and better capabilities, a growing selection of stylish designs, and yes, government incentives. But good looks, zippy performance and rebates are not enough to turn electric vehicles into a mass-market success.
For that, the industry will need to focus on the far-less-glamorous infrastructure of charging stations. It’s a huge investment opportunity, says Blink Charging’s Michael Farkas. “Anyone who owns a building or a parking lot with public access can invest in EV charging,” he says. From giants such as IKEA — which has equipped more than two thirds of its stores with charging points — to parking garage operators, property owners are adding environmental and monetary value to their buildings.
Read “Electric-vehicle charging-infrastructure finance emerges,” By Lou Del Bello, on ImpactAlpha.
Agents of Impact: Follow the Talent
Hann Verheijen, formerly of Oikocredit, is the new managing director of Netherlands-based Cordaid Investment Management, the €65 million asset manager of the Catholic Organization for Relief and Development Aid… Forbes will host the invite-only Forbes Impact Summit on June 12-13, 2018, in Newark and New York City… ClearSo is hiring corporate finance professionals for its investment banking team and other positions based in London… Racial justice, employee ownership, and labor dynamics are on the agenda for the mid-year (webinar) review from Transformative Finance on Thursday, June 14.
— June 4, 2018
