General description and ownership of the Forsyth Street Companies.
The following describes the three companies that are collectively known as Forsyth Street. FSAM is an
affiliate of Forsyth Street Advisors LLC (“FSA”). FSA was formed in 2003 and FSAM in 2009. As described
below, FSA is a New York City-based specialty consulting firm with expertise in affordable housing,
community development, infrastructure, renewable energy and energy efficiency, municipal finance and
real estate related public private partnerships. In 2020, the two firm’s investment advisory services were
consolidated into FSAM. Forsyth Street Affordable Housing (“FSAH”) was also formed in 2020 and
provides transaction-based services to for-profit and not-for-profit developers and owners of affordable
housing. All three companies are 94.5% owned by Charles Laven.
FSA provides a suite of consulting services to public agencies, foundations, financial institutions, and non-
profits including product and program design, loan underwriting, capital sourcing, and assistance with the
issuance of municipal debt. As a consultant, we have assisted municipalities in the creation of programs
and internal investment funds, and we bring our knowledge and experience in the creation of new capital
investment programs on behalf of cities.
FSAH provides consulting services to for-profit and non-profit affordable housing real estate developers
assisting with site selection, feasibility and market analysis, capital sourcing, and transaction execution.
Information about FSAM is provided below and in the balance of the Items in this Form.
Advisory Services of Forsyth Street Asset Management
FSAM serves as an external fund manager for impact-oriented funds and assists in the development,
capitalization, and management of several industry-leading investment funds. FSAM works with a wide
range of private philanthropies and foundations, Community Development Financial Institutions, CRA-
motivated banks, and other leading financial institutions. It acts as a fund manager of multiple investment
funds and public-private partnerships and plays an intermediary role between the supply of and the
demand for public policy motivated capital. The firm works across a broad range of impact areas,
including affordable housing, service-enriched supportive housing, clean energy, community-based
healthcare, community facilities, microfinance, urban redevelopment, neighborhood stabilization, and
community development.
Through this work, FSAM functions as a specialized lender and portfolio manager, with responsibility for
tasks including real estate underwriting, loan origination and servicing, investor reporting, capitalization
and balance sheet management, asset management and new product development.
FSAM provides asset management capabilities from inception and design through capitalization, and
manages all aspects of operations, including loan origination, underwriting, credit assessment, and
financials for each investment fund. Each fund is managed to be self-sustaining through the revenues it
earns on its lending and investing activities requiring no additional capital on behalf of the sponsoring
municipality or philanthropy or fund members.
FSAM has no retail clients and does not provide
services to individual investors. It does not engage in
security trading on behalf of any retail client. It is not a broker-dealer nor is it affiliated with any broker
dealer.
FSAM performs advisory services for a small number of institutional clients, each of which has worked
with FSAM to create customized loan or investment funds whose purpose is to deliver financing to
eligible borrowers to advance the social and impact mission of the institutional client or to utilize a public-
private partnership to finance renewable energy assets.
FSAM provides investment advisory services on behalf of clients that relate to the investment of client’s
funds:
1. Recommendations on Real Estate Loans: FSAM makes recommendations for the origination of real
estate loans, primarily affordable housing, and community development. Such recommendations are
in all cases subject to approval by an investment/credit committee for each fund. Each such
committee is wholly independent of FSAM and contains no overlap with FSAM’s staff. In some cases,
FSAM’s analysis and recommendations are made to a staff member of the client who then presents
said analysis and recommendations to the fund’s investment/credit committee. All loan
recommendations must fully comply with all relevant underwriting guidelines and operating
agreements. Based on the underwriting guidelines and operating agreements, FSAM is only
permitted to recommend certain types of loans to clients. FSAM is also required to adhere to
detailed guidelines, terms and conditions and requirements about each lending fund. The loans are
funded from the proceeds of borrowings of the funds (including bank provided lines of credit or term
loans) or with the client’s funds or a combination of both.
2. Recommendations on Investments of Reserves and Surplus Funds: FSAM periodically invests the cash
in the funds to maintain adequate fund liquidity or for other operating or cash management
purposes. Any investment decisions relating to said cash are governed by the client-approved policies
and procedures of each fund. FSAM is also required to adhere to any applicable borrowing or loan
agreements associated with financing provided to the fund. The investment of reserves and surplus
funds can only be invested in allowable instruments of specified credit quality. The allowable
investments are typically US Treasury securities, highly rated commercial paper, or other cash
management investments. Reserves, surplus cash and operating funds are held in: (a) an escrow
account with a trustee; (b) demand deposit accounts with a bank; or (c) a client-specified and
directed brokerage or investment account held at a third-party broker-dealer. These arrangements
are described in Item 12 and Item 15 below.
FSAM does not earn any performance fee based on the outcome of any investment recommendation. Its
sole focus is on administering the client’s funds in accordance with the required covenants and guidelines
established by the client upon entering a contract. All FSAM’s recommendations are subject to oversight
from an independent investment/credit committee (including the investors, lenders, and client).
FSAM’s discretionary and non-discretionary assets under management are discussed in Item 16.