Prosper Marketplace President Ron Suber Joins Unison as an Investor and Strategic Advisor
Feb 21, 2017, 15:03 ET
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Unison Home Ownership Investors, the leading provider of home ownership investments, announced today that Ron Suber, president of Prosper Marketplace, has become an investor in the company and has taken on a significant advisory role as the company is experiencing a period of unparalleled growth, opportunity and availability.
A financial services industry veteran, Suber brings to Unison a wealth of experience across multiple disciplines. As an influencer in the financial technology space, Suber will look to grow the home ownership investment category through his relationships with marketplace lenders, mortgage companies, realtor groups and banks.
"There are many critical factors I consider before investing in a company: The team members, their market position, ability to build solutions, competitive advantages and avenues of growth," said Ron Suber, president of Prosper Marketplace. "I am excited to be a Unison shareholder and I look forward to advising them as they combine all of the above. It's invigorating to work with the true innovators and clear market leaders in this new and very large category."
"We welcome Ron Suber to the Unison family and we are very excited about the capabilities he adds to our team," said Jim Riccitelli, co-CEO of Unison. "Ron's vision and leadership in the financial technology world are very well known and he will play an important role as Unison continues to lead the home ownership investment category."
Unison was founded in 2005 when Chairman and Co-CEO Thomas Sponholtz set out to build a large scale platform that efficiently connects institutional investors who want exposure to U.S. residential real estate and homebuyers who need capital to purchase a home, or homeowners seeking liquidity from their home without borrowing. With the platform running, Unison has secured significant funding from institutional investors to fund home ownership investments.
"Because we sit in the middle, between consumers and institutional investors, Unison is in a unique position to engage and understand the challenges on both sides of the market," said Thomas Sponholtz, chairman and co-CEO of Unison.
The company is now offering its home ownership investments in 13 states and has plans to expand its reach further in 2017. Through partnerships with a number of large mortgage originators, Unison is making the dream of home ownership a reality for more millennials and first time buyers.
Suber joins a talented bench at Unison, including advisors John Martinez and Tad Lowrey. Martinez has been a Unison advisor since 2006 and has decades of experience in the management of high-performance financial management firms and the development of complex financial products. He spent 12 years as a senior executive at Barclays Global Investors and CEO of the Global Index Group. Martinez currently serves on the Board of Directors of iShares Inc. (BlackRock). Lowrey is the current chairman of the California Bankers Association and San Francisco Federal Home Loan Bank and has held leadership positions as chairman, chief executive officer and chief financial officer for several publicly held financial institutions over the last four decades. He has led several banks as CEO, three resulting in successful sales to larger entities, after driving growth and value organically through acquisitions, and in one case a successful IPO.
About Unison Home Ownership Investors
Unison introduced the home ownership investment category in 2007. Unison provides homeowners with long-term financing in exchange for the opportunity to share in the gain or loss in the home's value when they decide to sell — up to 30 years later. There are no interest charges or monthly payments on the investment. Over the last decade, we've become the largest home ownership investor and expanded nationwide by working with lenders, regulators and institutional investors to integrate home ownership investing into the U.S. housing finance system. What sets Unison apart is true partnership: we invest at the same home value as the homeowner and share with them the downside risk and upside potential — in Unison.
Unison HomeBuyer opens the door for people to buy the home they want with less debt and risk, typically by doubling the purchaser's down payment. This larger down payment makes it easier to qualify for a loan, increases buying power, lowers the monthly payment and/or allows a buyer to reserve cash. Unison HomeOwner provides cash now to current homeowners without the added debt or payments of a home equity loan or HELOC. Homeowners use the money to eliminate debt, remodel, pay for school, invest, or as a cash cushion for financial stability.
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SOURCE Unison Home Ownership Investors