FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Impact Shares and Community Capital Management (CCM) celebrate the first anniversary of the Impact Shares Affordable Housing MBS ETF (NYSE: OWNS). The exchange-traded fund (ETF) seeks to generate income while addressing the racial wealth gap by directing capital toward homeownership opportunities in minority communities, families, and workers.
OWNS launched in July 2021 and, to our knowledge, is the first and only publicly-traded solution seeking to support the growth of affordable homeownership by creating financing for low- and moderate-income (LMI) borrowers. OWNS invests in agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) backed by pools of mortgage loans made to LMI families, minority families, and/or families that live in persistent poverty areas. The ETF offers investors a capital markets solution for bridging the racial wealth gap to help address the affordable housing crisis in the U.S.
“OWNS is the culmination of our focus on addressing the racial wealth gap,” said Alyssa Greenspan, president and COO of CCM. “CCM has invested over $3.9 billion in minority communities since our inception, including what we believe to be the first MBS pool consisting solely of women led minority families in 2018. OWNS enables all types of investors the opportunity to focus on affordable homeownership to help reduce the wealth gap issue.”
OWNS allows investors – who reach a certain investment requirement – to direct their capital towards a specific geography, creating customizable local impact within the ETF. This feature can help banks receive investment test consideration on their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) exam and enables other place-based investors, such as pensions, unions, state and local governments, and community foundations, to achieve localized impact.
“Affordable housing is a core component of community development efforts,” said Dan Rollins, chairman and CEO of BancorpSouth. “We are proud to be invested in this innovative financial solution that looks to address the nation’s ongoing need for affordable homeownership for LMI and minority borrowers, while also meeting our CRA needs.”1
Since its launch, OWNS has invested in custom-created mortgage pools, comprised of 375 loans, primarily supporting minority and LMI families. Of those loans, 82% have been made to LMI minority borrowers, with 196 loans made to minority women borrowers. The ETF has invested in loans across 37 states plus the District of Columbia, including 24 unique persistent poverty counties.
“In addition to OWNS’s first anniversary, we are also celebrating the ETF’s impact on wealth creation for LMI families,” remarks David Sand, chief impact strategist at CCM. “We have partnered with Redfin to calculate the estimated home values of the loans in the OWNS portfolio providing us metrics on wealth creation.2 Based on OWNS’s current holdings, the loans have generated an average wealth effect of approximately $44,000 per mortgage over the length of each loan’s investment period through August 3,2022. This compares to a median family wealth of $36,100 for Hispanic Americans and $24,100 for Black Americans.3”
“One of the largest barriers to wealth creation for minorities and Black Americans is the lack of inherited wealth,” notes Marvin Owens, chief engagement officer at Impact Shares. “Providing affordable housing to minority Americans is a crucial step in helping to address the widening racial wealth gap and catalyzing economic growth in LMI communities. We are proud to have OWNS helping to address this issue and look forward to providing more positive impact outcomes from the ETF in the future.”
Investors can learn more about OWNS and the Impact Shares mission at https://impactetfs.org/owns-etf.
1 This testimonial may not be representative of the experience of other customers and there is no guarantee of future performance or success.
2 We will look to calculate wealth creation values moving forward so long as we can obtain the necessary data from Redfin or another online real estate brokerage company
3 https://www.urban.org/research/publication/closing-gaps-building-black-wealth-through-homeownership
About Impact Shares
Impact Shares is an ETF issuer and investment manager that is creating a new and innovative platform for clients seeking maximum social impact with market returns. Impact Shares' goal is to build a capital markets bridge between leading nonprofits, investors and corporate America to direct capital and social engagement on societal priorities. Impact Shares is a tax-exempt non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. For more information about Impact Shares visit impactetfs.org.
Statements in this communication may include forward-looking information and/or may be based on various assumptions. The forward-looking statements and other views or opinions expressed herein are made as of the date of this publication. Actual future results or occurrences may differ significantly from those anticipated and there is no guarantee that any particular outcome will come to pass. The statements made herein are subject to change at any time. Impact Shares disclaims any obligation to update or revise any statements or views expressed herein.
About Community Capital Management (CCM)
Community Capital Management, LLC (CCM) is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale with employees in Boston, Charlotte, the New York City area, and Southern California, CCM was founded in 1998 and manages over $4 billion in assets. The firm believes a fully integrated portfolio — one that includes environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors — can deliver strong financial performance while simultaneously having positive long-term economic and sustainable impact. CCM’s strategies utilize an innovative approach to fixed income and equity investing by combining the positive outcomes of impact and ESG investing with rigorous financial analysis, an inherent focus on risk management, and transparent research. Within our fixed income portfolios, impact customization provides investors the opportunity to direct their capital to support specific geographies (also known as place-based impact investing), one or more of 18 impact themes, and impact initiatives. For more information, please visit: www.ccminvests.com.
Carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risk factors, charges, and expenses before investing. This and additional information can be found in Impact Shares' statutory and summary prospectus, which may be obtained by calling 844-448-3383, or by visiting https://impactetfs.org/. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.
Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at market price (not NAV), may trade at a discount or premium to NAV and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns.
Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Bonds and bond funds are subject to interest rate risk and will decline in value as interest rates rise. Mortgage-backed securities are subject to prepayment and extension risk and therefore react differently to changes in interest rates than other bonds. Small movements in interest rates may quickly and significantly reduce the value of certain mortgage-backed securities. This Fund is non-diversified. As an actively managed Fund, it does not seek to replicate a specified index.
OWNS is distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co., with is not affiliated with Impact Shares Corp., the Investment Adviser for the Fund, or Community Capital Management LLC, the sub-adviser for the Fund.