Our Investor Spotlight series continues, where we interview Urban Catalyst investors to share their experience and get their insights into why they decided to invest in our Opportunity Zone Fund.
We recently sat down with Ed M. – a long-time real estate investor in Silicon Valley and a tech executive who invested and contributed multiple add-on investments into our Fund. Ed’s capital gains event was the sale of stock, he previously worked at Zoom and Adobe.
Q: What made you look into investing in an Opportunity Zone Fund? How did you come to know about OZ investing?
A: I started researching Opportunity Zones for two main reasons – the opportunity to defer capital gains and because it's a great program where you can help revitalize economically distressed areas. It’s a win-win investment opportunity.
Q: Had you invested in real estate or commercial real estate before?
A: I have, and I actually have a California real estate brokers license, but I don't practice that often. My family and I have owned commercial real estate in San Jose for a long time.
Q: How did the tax benefits of Opportunity Zone investments work to your advantage when you sold your stock?
A: I qualified for the tax deferral on my capital gains event. Outside of this, Urban Catalyst checked off all the boxes – especially since I work in tech, and am quite familiar with the tech giants surrounding all of Urban Catalyst’s developments in downtown San Jose. There’s a lot out there to choose from, but Urban Catalyst’s location was key for me. Silicon Valley is my home, and I can defer taxes here for a good amount of time while making a profit on my investment. I see a lot of value in that.
Q: How would you describe your overall experience with us?
A: It’s been very professional. From the first time I went to the Urban Catalyst headquarters, I’ve felt very informed and the team has been transparent and accommodating. The experience has almost been too good to be true. It’s a diligent team that moves fast – amazing, to say the least.
Q: In your own words, can you summarize the top benefits of diversifying into real estate?
A: In Silicon Valley, there is only so much buildable land. That being said, we live in an amazing part of the world, so whenever you have an opportunity to invest in real estate here in Silicon Valley, it's going to be special. The reality is, once the pandemic is over, people will start coming back and companies will need more space to accommodate workers. Not all business can be done virtually. I've been investing in Bay Area real estate close to 20 years, and it’s never ever done me wrong.
Thank you Ed for sharing your experience with us!
By the way, our Fund closes on 12/30, contact us today to invest!
The statements, views, and opinions expressed herein are those of the individuals making the statements and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Urban Catalyst Manager LLC or any investment sponsored by Urban Catalyst LLC and are provided for informational purposes only and are not intended to be, nor should be construed or used as financial, legal, tax or investment advice, nor should this information be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy any interest in Urban Catalyst Opportunity Fund I LLC (the “Fund”), an investment sponsored by Urban Catalyst LLC (the “Sponsor”).
THIS MATERIAL IS NEITHER AN OFFER TO SELL NOR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY SECURITIES. THE OFFERING AND SALE OF INTERESTS IN URBAN CATALYST OPPORTUNITY FUND I LLC (“URBAN”) IS BEING MADE ONLY BY DELIVERY OF URBAN’S PRIVATE PLACEMENT MEMORANDUM (“PPM”), CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONAL DOCUMENTS, SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT AND CERTAIN OTHER INFORMATION TO BE MADE AVAILABLE TO INVESTORS (“OPERATIVE DOCUMENTS”) BY URBAN’S SPONSOR. ONLY ACCREDITED INVESTORS CAN INVEST. PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT A GUARANTEE OF FUTURE RESULTS. INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES ARE SPECULATIVE, INVOLVE A HIGH DEGREE OF RISK, AND ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS. PROSPECTIVE INVESTORS SHOULD CONSULT THEIR OWN TAX AND LEGAL PROFESSIONALS PRIOR TO MAKING INVESTMENT DECISIONS.
