How One Firm Is Tracking OZ Funds' ESG

For some people, the Opportunity Zone initiative is a tax incentive-based investment program. But for NES Financial EVP Reid Thomas, it’s much more.

“This initiative was created to address one of the biggest issues our country faces by creating opportunities for all in the communities that have been left behind in this recent economic growth cycle,” Thomas says. “As such, it has the potential to be the most impactful economic development tool in US history.”

NES Financial recently collaborated with Howard W. Buffett, who is Warren Buffett’s grandson, to develop what it says is the first standardization technology for predicting ESG impact in Opportunity Zones.

“The ultimate success of this initiative will be measured by the positive social impact that results in these communities,” Thomas says. “As a technology company focused on enabling these types of initiatives to do the good they are intended to do, we developed a purpose-built solution that helps administer all aspects of the OZ fund, including accounting, tax compliance, and impact measurements.”

As part of this strategy, NES began looking for an objective and consistent measuring methodology to track the positive impact of OZ investments. With Buffett, it implemented the impact rate of return as part of its platform.

“Despite the fact that the Opportunity Zone legislation is bipartisan and has evolved over decades under both Republican and Democratic administrations, it is still subject to the politics of the day,” Thomas says. “Left unchecked, these politics could eventually kill the initiative.”

Thomas contends that the impact rate of return can break through that noise and show the real impact that the initiative is or is not having. “We believe that Opportunity Zones are working and are enabling good things to be done that otherwise might not have been possible,” Thomas says. “Our hope is that OZ legislation is ultimately extended and expanded with real data supporting the impact in an objective way.”

To evaluate the social, environmental and economic impact of Opportunity Zones, the impact rate of return evaluates magnitude, quality, time and cost. Thomas says it is essential to standardize social impact and OZs in a scalable way.

“Most of what is out there is subjective and requires extensive consulting, so we looked for something that could be implemented in technology, that’s algorithmic, and does not place any additional cost burden on our clients,” Thomas says.

Thomas envisions that groups will use the tool to help design their projects to optimize returns and do good in the community. “This will be helpful to our fund managers and their partners when working with local communities, and economic development corps in getting the necessary permits and approvals to move forward with their plans,” Thomas says.