SWS Capital Management’s Clear Vision Impact Fund is bulking up on funding and staff.
SWS serves as the investment manager for the fund
The firm's goal is to make loans to small businesses that enhance the employment and skill-development opportunities for residents of underserved communities with the aim to maximize social impact by helping minority- and women-owned business enterprises access capital.
The firm is evaluating loan opportunities but has not yet made any.
Smith recently joined SWS after having spent nearly five years at JPMorgan Chase & Co. working in middle market banking and specialized industries and global philanthropy. He previously worked as an analyst for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Detroit branch and is lifelong Detroit resident and graduate of the University of Michigan.
“As Clear Vision begins to deploy its capital to fund and grow small businesses in minority communities throughout the country, Shannon’s vision and commitment will be a great asset,” Suzanne Shank, Siebert’s president and chief executive officer and principal of the fund’s general partner, said in a statement. Siebert is a majority minority and women owned business.
Smith’s experience at J.P. Morgan included helping manage the bank’s $150 million commitment to Detroit. He spearheaded the effort to establish the city’s financial empowerment center, in partnership with the city and Wayne County, and was co-chair of the firm’s Equity & Inclusion working group. Smith was recently tapped by Mayor Mike Duggan serve on the Human Rights Commission Board for the Civil Rights Inclusion & Opportunity office.
Smith will be responsible for executing loan transactions, underwriting and origination, portfolio management, due diligence; financial analysis and modeling; and industry research. Smith said he’s excited to work on a project that stands to make “a truly national impact in supporting and expanding the reach of minority-owned businesses and those that serve undercapitalized communities.”
The impact fund was launched last summer with an initial $25 million investment from Microsoft Corp. The fund has grown to more than $100 million with additional investments coming from Apple, Comcast, eBay, and Constellation Brands. The fund has a target size of $250 million.
In launching the affiliate last year, SWS said local government revenues had been hammered hard by the coronavirus and the infusion of cash to majority minority-owned firms would bolster municipal revenues as businesses ramp up hiring and get back to work. The fund was also expected to leverage SWS’s national network of relationships and its visibility and reputation within the minority business community.
