Exact Capital Group Receives Equity Investment from TruFund's Impact Developers Fund to Accelerate Growth

NEW YORK, Oct. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- TruFund Financial Services ("TruFund"), a Community Development Financial Institution located in New York City, today announced that it has made an equity investment in Exact Capital Group, LLC, a majority Black-owned real estate development firm headquartered in New York, NY that specializes in the development and management of affordable and mixed-use, residential, and commercial real estate. The preferred equity investment will support critical aspects of Exact Capital's strategic growth plan, specifically allowing the firm to continue with the development of affordable housing for low and moderate income residents, leverage increased liquidity, and enable it to grow internal capacity.

"Access to affordable forms of capital has limited opportunities for BIPOC developers and has greatly impeded their growth potential," said James H. Bason, President and CEO of TruFund, the fund manager. "Ensuring racial equity by providing access to capital is essential and a key mission objective of the fund. Our preferred equity investment will enhance Exact Capital's organizational growth trajectory and allow it to readily and actively pursue affordable housing and other economic development opportunities in underserved communities." 

The Exact Capital investment is the fourth investment by the Impact Developer Fund ("IDF"), launched in July 2020 by Morgan Stanley, TruFund Financial Services, and the Ford Foundation. IDF was established to provide equity capital and technical support to emerging real estate developers, especially businesses led by women and people of color. Lack of access to equity and equity-like capital hinders emerging developers from successfully and actively pursuing affordable housing development opportunities. Exact Capital, which has a 15-year track record of developing workforce, affordable and market-rate housing, was identified early by IDF as an attractive potential investment. 

"Morgan Stanley, TruFund, and Ford Foundation are truly leading the marketplace in providing this very important capital to BIPOC firms. There have been plenty of headlines and announcements made in response to the racial equity mandate, but no other organizations have made as meaningful of an impact as you three have. Making capital investments directly in BIPOC firms is crucial to funding their growth, especially in the affordable housing world." said Craig Livingston, Managing Partner at Exact Capital.

"We're pleased to support Exact Capital's efforts to expand access to affordable housing,"  said Roy Swan, Director of Mission Investments for the Ford Foundation. "TruFund has excelled at finding high potential firms in which to invest,  and we look forward to seeing what Exact Capital's team achieves in the future."  

"Morgan Stanley is proud to support Exact Capital Group through this investment and to help advance their growth and impact in building diverse, sustainable communities through affordable and mixed-income housing," said Joan Tally, Managing Director in Community Development Finance at Morgan Stanley. 

The Impact Developers Fund has identified its first cohort and plans to make subsequent announcements shortly. It is anticipated that future rounds will expand to service more BIPOC developers across the country. TruFund Financial Services is actively raising additional capital to support this initiative. For more information about IDF please contact James H. Bason [email protected] or Andre A. Simon [email protected].

About TruFund Financial Services, Inc.
TruFund Financial Services, Inc. is a wholly independent national nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). TruFund seeks to stimulate economic development in communities that are underserved by traditional banking institutions by providing fair and accessible capital, hands-on technical assistance, and innovative solutions to small businesses and nonprofit organization. 

Follow TruFund on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to find out more about the company's programs and initiatives or visit www.trufund.org.

About Exact Capital
Established in 2006, Exact Capital is a New York City headquartered real estate development company with projects primarily in New York City as well as New Jersey, and other parts of the East Coast, that primarily focuses on the acquisition, financing, development, and management of real estate. The team has over three decades of experience and is committed to developing real estate assets to their highest and best use, while honoring the distinctive characteristics of the communities it serves.  It works with community members and both private and public sector institutions to add value to neighborhoods by transforming blighted structures, vacant lots, and other non-performing or underperforming real estate into value added assets.

About Morgan Stanley 
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 41 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com

About the Ford Foundation 
The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than 80 years it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

SOURCE TruFund Financial Services, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.trufund.org/