Investing to Advance Racial Equity

The report assesses how investors can contribute to solutions for three of the main current components of wealth inequality: income inequality, home ownership and affordable housing, and access to capital.  Investors cannot, on their own, undo centuries of inequalities caused by structural racism, but they can help build a fairer and more just economy.

In the report, Cornerstone Capital Group evaluated how investments can help break the cycle of racial and ethnic wealth inequality. A few possible solutions include:

• Investing in deposits at Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) will help those institutions invest in underserved communities through affordable commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans.
• Fixed income or alternative funds focused on impact in underserved communities can provide reasonably priced loans for businesses or commercial properties in neighborhoods of color
• Through crowdfunding, investors can help repair household balance sheets of overleveraged individuals by swapping high-cost consumer, educational or mortgage loans for restructured, affordable, lower-cost loans.