A Reimagined Approach to Multifamily Investing: OpenPath Investments, LLC Providing Socially Responsible Investment Opportunities in the Residential Real Estate Industry

Founded in 2005, OpenPath Investments is a social impact real estate company and an established investment community, generating above-market returns while delivering positive and measurable social and environmental impact.

Core to the OpenPath platform is the ethos of stewardship – working to restore dignity in their communities by driving the social and environmental aspects of the portfolio. Over the years, OpenPath has experienced good success in the industry, in which the Urban Village program has played a pivotal role.

Urban Village began as a pilot project at a property in Utah and is now the core to OpenPath’s success. The program offers a holistic approach to property management that encourages residents to function as a traditional community. To achieve this, the program brings together in-house OpenPath community facilitators with the company’s resident base. The team then works in concert to catalyze strong community and overall resident well-being.

Through Urban Village, OpenPath offers engagement activities, leadership development opportunities, improved physical spaces and eco-responsibility initiatives. This proprietary program leads to happier residents who are more invested in their communities, which results in decreased turnover, lower utility expenses and greater levels of tenant referrals.

Recognizing the value of “whole property stewardship,” OpenPath embraces the notion that doing well is also good for business, and therefore measures success not only financially but also socially and environmentally.

In-Conversation with the Founder, Peter Slaugh:

Q. There is nothing more important for a successful small business than well-defined mission and vision statements. Can you explain your M&V statements in brief?

At OpenPath, our mission is to restore human dignity at a very basic level. And talking about the vision, we are striving to transform the lives of 100,000 apartment dwellers over the next decade, by creating healthy communities.

Q. An organization is defined by its core values. What are your company’s core values and how are they helping you to succeed?

We orient around three core values:

• The Whole Enchilada – To truly optimize for the good of the whole, we believe in giving selflessly and fearlessly to something bigger than ourselves.
• Awaken the Jaguar – We believe in being relentless, in sheer tenacity.
• Walk Softly – We have awe and respect for the path before us and believe in deep humility.

We apply these values as a lens in our decision making. When it comes to finding and retaining the right people, to identifying new investment opportunities, to managing our portfolio, and looking after our investors, we make sure that we deliver truly win-win outcomes. We give our absolute best every day and we acknowledge everything and everyone that enable us to show up and serve.

Q. Any company, big or small, must have the sense of authenticity and originality to succeed. Is your company a ‘leader’ or a ‘follower’?

I believe we are more of a leader; we are a pioneer in socially impactful real estate investing. While we have always maintained best practice in terms of environmental green-up, we have created entirely new models for our resident’s well-being – as evidenced by the uniqueness of our Urban Village Program in the real estate industry.

Q. “Earning trust and respect of consumers is through consistent focus on delivering high quality in all of our actions,” how do you interpret this statement?

In the apartment industry, consumers (or residents) are often commoditized. By looking after the social and communal needs of our resident base, we have created a differentiated product – one that is consistently higher quality than market alternatives and through delivering this repeatedly has helped us in establishing a high level of trust and respect between us and our residents.

Also, our culture rests heavily on feedback that loops in every facet of our business and is one of the factors to gain trust and respect from our residents. We always work hard and we make sure we have as many eyes and ears on the ground in our apartment communities. Within our Urban Village Program, we are always seeking new ways of incorporating residents’ needs and desires. Lastly, and most importantly, we at OpenPath work day in and out to create a transparent work culture in which our employees can give voice to their best ideas and their biggest concerns and have an opportunity to build these into our business.

Q. What makes OpenPath Investments one of the ‘Best’ companies?

We are deeply trusted by our investors - not just because we’ve delivered strong returns, but because they know that their dollars are being put to work in a way that means something in the world. In the words of one of our partners – “We don’t just make more money, we make money more”. I believe it is through having this strong adherence to building something great for our community that we are one of the best companies in the industry right now.

The Future Roadmap

As a leading firm in the investment community, OpenPath consistently looks for new opportunities to create stewardship-oriented investment products and serve its residents in deeper and more meaningful ways.

OpenPath believes that applying private capital to profitable endeavors that increase social and environmental justice is the most meaningful way to create sustainability in business. Therefore, the company is planning to triple the size of its portfolio and increase social capital by developing the Urban Village Program to touch more aspects of its resident’s lives (including financial well-being, health, education and security). In the same pursuit, OpenPath seeks alternative opportunities for its investors that will broaden the company’s for-good mandate.

Get in touch -

website- www.openpathinvestments.com

contact no. - 415.578.9036

Meet the Dynamic Leader

Peter Slaugh, Founder and Managing Partner of OpenPath Investments: After beginning a career in residential real estate in 1991, Slaugh moved into commercial real estate in the capital markets arena with GMAC Commercial Mortgage in 1997. Funding in excess of $1 billion in debt and equity products for his clients.

“By developing core competencies in niches often ignored by other industry participants, we believe we can create an enduringly strong business.”