Florida Mutual Fund Plans $250M in California Investments

LOS ANGELES-A mutual fund based in Ft. Lauderdale, FL plans to invest $250 million in bonds backing commercial real estate, housing and small businesses in the Golden State, an unusual move for a mutual fund. Portfolio manager for the fund, Alyssa Greenspan, tells GlobeSt.com that CRA Fund Advisors, which has already invested about $100 million in California projects and businesses, plans to increase that figure to $250 million, probably within the next two to four years.CRA Fund Advisors is investing the money via its CRA Qualified Investment Fund. Among the projects it has already funded is the Wilshire Vermont transit development in Los Angeles."A good portion of the securities that we buy are financing projects such as the Wilshire Vermont project," Greenspan tells GlobeSt.com. In the case of Wilshire Vermont, CRA Fund Advisors bought revenue bonds that were issued by the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency to finance part of the Wilshire Vermont project.The Florida-based mutual fund does not make direct investments in the real estate, only investments in the bonds that back the developments, Greenspan explains. Typically, the bonds are issued by redevelopment or housing agencies, housing authorities and others whose goal is to provide affordable housing as part of mixed-use projects like Wilshire Vermont.CRA Fund Advisors is looking to invest in projects throughout California, according to Greenspan. The fund calls its new effort the Community Investment Initiative, so named because the fund is aimed at minority-focused loans and projects that will support home ownership and small businesses.Among investors in the CRA Qualified Investment Fund is Wells Fargo, one of a number of institutional investors that have joined the fund to meet their goals under community reinvestment programs. At Wells Fargo, SVP Bob Taylor comments that the Florida-based fund represents "a prime example of how Community Reinvestment Act dollars can be directed in a way that makes a real difference in the lives of thousands of people in California."In addition to Wilshire Vermont station, other California projects in which CRA Fund Advisors has already invested funds include a housing down-payment assistance program for first time homebuyers in the City of Colton in the Inland Empire, and funding to a garment maker called Adore Knit Inc. in Los Angeles.