Ron Homer, Chief Strategist, Impact Investing, RBC Global Asset Management joins Julie Cooling, Founder & CEO, RIA Channel to discuss the important role of private capital in transforming communities and driving social change.
Homer, born and raised in the Brooklyn Beford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, was drawn to impact investing at an early age. He saw first hand the positive effects of Bobby Kennedy’s Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation initiative, which combined community action with government resources and private capital. “I saw an increase in home ownership and the emergence of small businesses and realized that it is possible to make a change in your community,” says Homer. Impact Investment strategies ultimately seek both financial returns and social returns and can be accessed in a variety of ways.
RBC’s Access Capital Community Investing Strategy is a community-focused fixed income solution. The portfolio is comprised of high quality Agency CMBS, Agency MBS, Taxable or Tax-exempt Municipal securities and is 100% focused on serving low-and-moderate income individuals or communities across the key themes like affordable homeownership and housing, education, healthcare, infrastructure and neighborhood revitalization. RBC’s U.S. Impact Bond strategy seeks to maximize social and environmental impact, while delivering competitive returns.
Ron Homer is a 2021 GlobalMindED Inclusive Leader Award recipient. His background and extensive experience in community investing enables him to identify a broad range of solutions for clients. He is often sought to consult with leading government officials on a variety of community impact issues. Before joining the organization, he was co-founder and chief executive officer of an investment adviser specializing in community investments that was acquired by RBC GAM in 2008. Previously, Ron enjoyed an extensive banking career including thirteen years as president and chief executive officer of a large bank in Boston. He joined the financial services industry in 1969.