Chestnut Funds, a fund manager specializing in real estate investment, has launched an opportunity zone fund on RealCrowd, a direct investment online real estate platforms.
Chestnut Opportunity Zone Fund will invest in healthcare, retail, office and mixed-use properties located in designated opportunity zones in the mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Rocky Mountain states. Target investment amounts are between $1 million and $5 million.
“Our strategy is unique in the marketplace. Through three separate fund families, we target real estate opportunities too large to efficiently source capital and too small for institutional investment,” says Steen Watson, co-founder of Chestnut Funds. “By focusing on this niche, we are able to participate in value investing opportunities that are underserved by the full range of capital providers.”
With investments in many U.S. markets, Chestnut Funds manages several funds that deliver value by sourcing and investing in middle-market real estate alongside proven operating partners.
“We not only look at strong underwriting fundamentals, we also examine projects based on their potential to create positive community impact particularly around quality job creation, access to commercial and community goods and services, and environmental sustainability. Our strategy is to deliver both market-rate returns and social returns,” said Watson.
Chestnut Funds chose to partner with RealCrowd for the launch of this fund offering in large part because of its prior experience with the platform, notes Watson.
RealCrowd requires each real estate sponsor on its platform prove more than 10 years of principal-level experience and more than $50 million in transactional history, while also ensuring each investor is accredited. The company recently launched a full due diligence report for every sponsor that is featured in its marketplace, increasing the transparency and availability of information for current and prospective investors.
“Because RealCrowd connects sponsors directly with accredited investors, we are able to substantially broaden our reach and introduce our unique strategy to a wide variety of investors throughout the nation,” said Watson.
Adam Hooper, co-founder and CEO of RealCrowd, added, “RealCrowd continues to serve as the ideal digital marketplace for connecting a broad spectrum of investors directly with real estate investment opportunities, giving them access to strong risk-adjusted returns for the long term. The recent opportunity zone legislation, fund managers are increasingly recognizing the benefits of presenting opportunity funds on our direct investment platform in order to connect with like-minded investors. We expect that Chestnut Funds will find continued success on our platform and look forward to bringing additional opportunity zone funds to accredited investors across the United States.”
