CCM Community Impact Bond Fund Hits $3 Billion in Assets

New video highlights how clients can direct their capital in the Fund to support their impact objectives.

Ft. Lauderdale, FL, June 23, 2021: Community Capital Management, Inc. (CCM), a leading impact and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing manager, today announced its flagship CCM Community Impact Bond Fund (tickers: CRAIX/CRANX/CRATX) hit $3 billion in assets and it has launched a new video on the Fund’s innovative, customizable approach. The Fund is one of the largest and most established fixed income impact investing mutual funds with a 21-year track record of success. The Fund invests in well-researched, fossil fuel free bonds that have direct and measurable positive environmental and societal impacts. Its name was changed earlier this year from the CRA Qualified Investment Fund.

Launched in 1999, the Fund helps banks meet the investment test requirements of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Due to increased demand for a market-rate, fixed income impact investing vehicle, it has seen inflows from a variety of impact investors including religious organizations, foundations, endowments, non-profits, family offices, and healthcare organizations. Clients can align their values with their investments through the Fund’s pioneering approach to fixed income impact investing by directing their capital to specific geographies, impact themes, or impact initiatives. To our knowledge, it is the only strategy offering investors this type of customizable impact.

“The Fund’s ability to align with clients’ impact objectives and positively impact families and communities nationwide has been a large reason for its increase in assets over the last few years,” said Alyssa Greenspan, president and COO. “This dovetails with the tremendous growth in assets under management for total U.S.-domiciled assets using sustainable investing strategies which has grown from $12.0 trillion at the start of 2018 to $17.1 trillion at the start of 2020 according to the US SIF 2020 Trends Report. In 2020, the Fund’s assets increased 23%.”

“We are extremely proud of the Fund’s growth, particularly over the last year with so much uncertainty and challenging market conditions,” said David Sand, chief impact strategist. “The impact of COVID-19 has spotlighted pre-existing financial and economic disparities faced by low-income communities, predominantly those of color, and the Fund’s mandate to provide needed capital to low- and moderate-income neighborhoods and families has been more important than ever.”

“Reaching this milestone shows that we are having a positive impact on our clients, their investing experience, and to people and communities in need,” said Greenspan. “We are extremely proud of our team and our proprietary approach to measure, monitor, track, and report to clients on every earmarked investment’s positive environmental and social outcomes. We are excited to share our new video which details how clients can align their investments with their impact objectives.”

Sand added: “As a pioneer in impact investing, we continuously look for ways to innovate our research and product offerings to show how capital can be used to advance a mission or align with personal values. One recent example is a custom-created affordable mortgage pool to low- and moderate-income Black borrowers. Many Black Americans have been left out of the American dream – owning a home. We believe that an increased amount of visible investment capital to purchase affordable loans and custom create MBS pools can help increase the number of originations to minority borrowers.”

CRANX returned 0.84% over the last year (as of 03/31/2021) and has an Overall Morningstar Rating of 4 stars out of 222 intermediate government funds (based on risk-adjusted returns as of 03/31/2021). For more information, visit www.ccminvests.com.

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Community Capital Management, Inc. (CCM) is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The verbal and written communications of an investment adviser provide you with information you need to determine whether to hire or retain the adviser. Past performance is not indicative of future results. CCM has distinct investment processes and procedures relating to the management of investment portfolios. The firm’s strategies are customized, rather than model-based, and utilize an innovative approach to fixed income and equity investing by combining the positive outcomes of impact and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing with rigorous financial analysis, an inherent focus on risk management, and transparent research. Bonds are subject to interest rate risk and will decline in value as interest rates rise.

As of 03/31/2021, the average annual total returns for CRANX for 1-year, 5-year, 10-year and since CRANX inception (03/02/2007) were 0.84%, 2.21%, 2.79%, and 3.40%. The performance data quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Total annual fund operating expenses for CRANX are 0.46%. Other share classes may vary. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost and current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. For performance data current to the most recent month-end, please call 866-202-3573.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Bonds and bond funds will decrease in value as interest rates rise. The Fund is not diversified. There is no guarantee the objective of the Fund will be achieved.

Stocks will fluctuate in response to factors that may affect a single company, industry, sector, or the market as a whole and may perform worse than the market. A sustainable investment strategy which incorporates impact investing and/or ESG criteria may take into consideration factors beyond traditional financial information to select securities, which could result in relative investment performance deviating from other strategies or broad market benchmarks, depending on whether such sectors or investments are in or out of favor in the market. Further, ESG strategies may rely on certain values-based criteria to eliminate exposures found in similar strategies or broad market benchmarks, which could also result in relative investment performance deviating.

Carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. This and other information can be found in the Fund’s prospectus, which can be obtained by calling 866-202-3573.  Please read it carefully before investing.

The Fund is distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co., which is not affiliated with Community Capital Management, Inc.

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The Morningstar Rating™ for funds, or “star rating”, is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product’s monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The Morningstar Rating does not include any adjustment for sales loads. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three, five-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% three- year rating for 36-59 months of total returns, 60% five-year rating/40% three-year rating for 60-119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% five-year rating/20% three-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent three-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods. Rating for Institutional Share Class only. Other classes may vary. As of 03/31/2021, the CCM Community Impact Bond Fund was rated against the following numbers of U.S.-domiciled Intermediate Government funds over the following time periods: 222 funds in the last three years, 201 funds in the last five years, and 177 funds in the last ten years. With respect to these Intermediate Government funds, the CCM Community Impact Bond Fund Institutional Share Class received a Morningstar Rating of three stars, three stars, and four stars for the three-, five-, and ten-year periods, respectively.

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