Created in partnership by Impact Shares and CCM, OWNS has purchased custom mortgage pools of more than 375 loans primarily supporting minority and low and moderate-income families

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.”

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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. 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.”

“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.”

Source: Impact Shares