Fixed income impact investing manager Community Capital Management’s (CCM) flagship CRA Qualified Investment Fund has exceeded USD2 billion in assets.
"We are excited and proud to share with our clients and industry partners that the CRA Qualified Investment Fund has reached another important milestone, surpassing USD2 billion in assets," says David Sand, chief investment strategist of CCM. "Reaching this level is a testament to the increasing demand for impact investments and the many investors specifically looking for fixed income impact investments."
CCM manages USD2.4 billion in assets – including the CRA Qualified Investment Fund, the CCM Alternative Income Fund and separately managed accounts.
CCM incorporates the environmental and social aspects of ESG investing into its investment philosophy by proactively seeking market-rate bonds that positively contribute to economic and sustainable impact. This includes a variety of impact initiatives such as affordable housing, small business development, gender lens, renewable energy, fossil fuel free, and many more.
A benefit of the fund is the ability for institutional shareholders to customise their investments to support specific geographies or impact initiatives and to receive detailed quarterly reports on impact metrics and outcomes.
"Launched in 1999, the CRA Qualified Investment Fund was initially created for banks looking to receive positive consideration on the investment test portion of their Community Reinvestment Act exam. We continue to work with hundreds of banks across the country and have seen a large amount of recent growth from non-financial investors – foundations, religious organisations, and millennials – looking for a diversified, liquid market-rate bond strategy with positive environmental and social impacts," says Alyssa Greenspan, president and chief operating officer of CCM. "We have additionally seen a substantial increase in assets through platforms such as Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, UBS, and First Affirmative, as these firms and others offer impact investing platforms for their clients."
Sand adds: "As a pioneer in impact investing, we continuously look for ways to innovate our research and product offerings to show how capital can be used to advance a mission or align with personal values. One recent example is a bond that helped finance the nation's first LEED Platinum designation for a collegiate stadium at UNT's Apogee Stadium. This is a great model of how we focus upon the ultimate use of proceeds – conducting meticulous due diligence and tracking the underlying impact – for all impact investments as this bond is not formally labelled "green" but has positive environmental features. We are enthusiastic to see more bonds coming to market with positive environmental and social benefits and look forward to the fund growing to USD3 billion and beyond."
