ServiceNow Launches $100M Fund

ServiceNow

ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW), a Santa Clara, CA-based digital workflow company focused on work, launched the ServiceNow Racial Equity Fund.

The $100m investment fund is designed to drive more sustainable wealth creation by funding homeownership, entrepreneurship, and neighborhood revitalization within Black communities in 10 regions across the United States.

Managed by RBC Global Asset Management’s impact investing team on behalf of ServiceNow, the fund aims to strengthen under-resourced communities by overcoming systemic barriers that lead to inequitable access to capital.

The vehicle will buy smaller community loans to increase the lending capacity for local banks. By increasing access to capital, the investment will facilitate homeownership and entrepreneurship in Black communities, leading to job creation and wider economic growth.

The investment, which is the first of its kind for ServiceNow, will initially focus investments in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, Orlando, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. – locations where ServiceNow has significant operations and community presence.

RBC Global Asset Management will manage the investment strategy on behalf of ServiceNow as a custom institutional separately managed account. The fund will prioritize loans for homeownership and affordable housing, small business loans for companies that serve the community or are owned by a Black entrepreneur, and community infrastructure loans including healthcare, education, and neighborhood revitalization.

RBC Global Asset Management will identify loans through its network of banks and other lenders supporting Black communities. Each loan will be screened to ensure it aligns with fund goals and requirements. Loans that match the fund’s criteria will be purchased as securities for ServiceNow’s portfolio. The fund will be available for investment on February 1, 2021 and will be fully invested in 2021.

FinSMEs

26/01/2021