All of my clients want to earn a reasonable rate of return on their passive real estate investments but more and more they also want to do something good if they can at the same time. Enter Social Investing. While real estate is not the norm in social investing there are several commercial real estate investments that provide safe, secure long term yield while at the same time doing something to help other people and/or the environment. Here are a few of the investments my clients are considering when investing in commercial real estate in a socially and environmentally conscious way:

Green and LEED certified buildings
Historic Preservation and Rehabilitation
Community Investments such as non-profit tenanted buildings and conservation easements
Buildings with solar features, gray water systems and/or green roofs
EnergyStar certified buildings

Contact TMO for assistance in planning your next social investment in real estate. email or 1.866.539.1777

Here is some general info about Social Investing.

Social Investing Definitions:

• Socially responsible investing, also known as socially-conscious or ethical investing, describes an investment strategy which seeks to maximize both financial return and social good. Source

• Limiting one's investment alternatives to securities of firms whose products or actions are considered socially acceptable Source

• Social investing is the deliberate effort to invest money in financial securities that reflect your personal social attitudes while avoiding financial securities that support things you disagree with. It can also reflect religious, political or environmental beliefs as well. Social investing stems from the philosophy that financial support of something is the same as endorsing it. Source

Contact TMO for assistance in planning your next social investment in real estate. email or 1.866.539.1777

Most Relevant Sites on Social Investing and Social Investments:

1. What Is Social Investing? Discusses Identification, Significance, Geography, Effects and Considerations of Social Investing. http://www.ehow.com/about_4614985_what-social-investing.html

2. Social Investing Business Ethics. The Magazine of corporate responsibility http://business-ethics.com/

3. Socially responsible investing (wikipedia) Wikipedia information about Social Investing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socially_responsible_investing

4. Social Investment Forum The Social Investment Forum (SIF) is the US membership association for professionals, firms, institutions and organizations engaged in socially responsible and sustainable investing. SIF and its members advance investment practices that consider environmental, social and corporate governance criteria to generate long-term competitive financial returns and positive societal impact. http://www.socialinvest.org/

Contact TMO for assistance in planning your next social investment in real estate. email or 1.866.539.1777

Impact and Social Investing You may have been hearing the words "impact investing" or "social investment". If you care only about making money, read no further. If you care about making a positive difference in the world while making money, read on.

Using for-profit impact investments to solve social problems.

Here is decent video from Forbes featuring the authors of Impact Investing: Transforming How We Make Money While Making a Difference. This new breed of "investment" achieves social and environmental good while earning an investor a decent return. Formerly, donations were the main way to make a difference while having some financial incentive. Now, you can do good and get a good return simultaneously.

I see opportunities for Impact Investing in Real Estate by purchasing properties that are occupied by tenants whose business practices you support (i.e. Goodwill or Whole Foods), buying a green or LEED building, or doing redevelopment projects on existing buildings (i.e. adaptive reuse or historic preservation).

Impact Investments: Transforming How We Make Money While Making a Difference

A ground-breaking book on the transformative power of impact investments: Impact Investing Book

This is the first book to chart the catalytic path of Impact Investing, explaining how it is and can be a positive disruptive force. It shows how impact investments are a transformational vehicle for delivering "blended value" throughout the investment spectrum. Written by two leaders in the growing field of impact investing, the book defines the emerging Impact Investment industry for participants on all sides of the funding equation (investors, funders and social entrepreneurs).

What types of impact and social investments would you consider? What rate of return would you require?

Learn More about Impact Investing in Real Estate

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