3c hapter - Index of
3c hapter - Index of
3c hapter - Index of
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The Biggest- Impact Financial Sector You’ve Never Heard Of 91<br />
marketing. Individuals hear about it through word <strong>of</strong> mouth or<br />
from fi nancial advisors.<br />
The NHCLF recently won a prestigious award, which may<br />
account for some <strong>of</strong> the surge, but Cantor believes there is more<br />
going on. “People are tired <strong>of</strong> fi nding out about collateralized<br />
debt obligations and tranches and all this chicanery that was<br />
happening with their supposedly traditionally invested money,”<br />
he says. The idea <strong>of</strong> investing locally, as well as the security <strong>of</strong><br />
knowing that your principal will not be lost, is appealing, he<br />
believes. And with interest rates on savings accounts at rock bottom,<br />
“suddenly our very modest interest rates are very attractive.”<br />
A lot <strong>of</strong> the investments coming in, he says, are from Baby<br />
Boomers coming into wealth through inheritance and seeking<br />
alternatives.<br />
“Would you rather put your money in this or the stock market?”<br />
asks Laura Kind McKenna, who has invested personally and<br />
through a family foundation in a community loan fund. “Putting<br />
capital to work in our communities is just so important.”<br />
A CD—With Benefits<br />
So, how do community loan funds work? Typically, individuals can<br />
make an investment—usually a minimum <strong>of</strong> $1,000, but sometimes<br />
lower—for a period <strong>of</strong> one to several years. The loan fund<br />
lends the money out to targeted borrowers, and pays the investor<br />
a modest, guaranteed fi xed- rate return—typically 2 percent to<br />
3 percent for a short- term loan and up to 5 percent or more for<br />
a 10-year or longer loan. The New Hampshire Community Loan<br />
Fund, for example, currently pays 2 percent interest for 1-year<br />
loans and up to 5 percent for loans <strong>of</strong> 10 or more years. Principal<br />
is returned at the end <strong>of</strong> the loan term.<br />
The rates are similar to a certifi cate <strong>of</strong> deposit (although at<br />
this writing, loan fund rates far surpass those <strong>of</strong> CDs). Unlike CDs,<br />
the loans are not insured by the FDIC, unless the CDFI is a community<br />
bank. Still, community loan funds have an enviable track<br />
record, and it is rare a fund does not return capital and keep to<br />
its guaranteed rate. Most community loan funds maintain reserve