Benefits
For Investors
Enhanced Transparency.
Greater Efficiency.
Smarter Investments.
Efficiency. CARS™ allows investors to go beyond standard due diligence and effectively zero in on risk factors and mitigants that are most critical to their investment decision-making and monitoring. CARS™ analyses are built on a set of metrics that bring transparency and standardization to the CDFI sector and simplify underwriting complexity created by the variation in CDFI structure, focus, and operations.
Focus. Leading CDFIs in the community investing sector are CARS™ rated. Investors can use CARS™ to identify new investment opportunities that match their social objectives and risk parameters.
Value. A CARS™ subscription provides investors with more than ratings—it includes a comprehensive Ratings Report and an Annual Review Report for each of the two years following the rating to update financial information and highlight significant changes in the CDFI’s impact and financial performance.
For CDFIs
Leading CDFI loan funds from across the U.S. have been rated by CARS™. The benefits of being CARS™ rated include:
- Identification with a leading group of CDFIs that have subjected themselves to rigorous scrutiny and demonstrate a commitment to transparency.
- Increased exposure to community investors that seek to match their social objectives and risk-return criteria.
- Access to an objective, third-party analysis of your organization’s strengths and weaknesses from the perspective of an investor. Rated CDFIs have remarked (and investors have noted) that they approach investors differently after going through a rigorous CARS™ ratings process.
- Inclusion in CARS™ press releases about the availability of new Ratings Reports.
- Access to a password protected “CARS™ Garage” with customized marketing and communication tools for use with investors and local media outlets to publicize that your organization is CARS™ rated, committed to transparency and rigorous performance standards.
- Participation in annual conference seminars exclusively directed to CARS™-rated CDFIs and subscribers.
