Chicago Treasurer’s Office and R. Seelaus & Co. Invest to Increase Homeownership and Renew Neglected Neighborhoods

Chicago, Ill. – More low-to-moderate income homebuyers in Chicago will now be able to realize their dreams of homeownership. Thanks to an innovative public and private partnership between the Chicago City Treasuer’s Office and R. Seelaus & Co., Inc., a certified women-owned, full-service investment and asset management firm, new capital has been invested in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae that will make mortgages for single-family homes more accessible on the city’s south and west side neighborhoods.

The City Treasurer’s Office has initially invested $7 million with a commitment to invest a total of $25 million within the first quarter of 2023, in partnership with R. Seelaus & Co. About the investment, where the homeownership rates for Blacks is 35% and 43% for Hispanics, compared with 54% for Whites, Chicago Treasuer Melissa-Conyears whose office is the custodian and manager of all cash and investments for the City, said: “Access to homeownership is both a cornerstone to lift marginalized neighborhoods and a critical tool for building long-term wealth, and a more equitable future. We’re proud to be part of this initiative because it will get desperately needed mortgage capital into the hands of hard-working Chicagoans who historically and systematically have been blocked out of the American Dream of homeownership.”

The initiative began in late January 2023, with the Treasurer Office’s initial investment from cash holdings to lower-middle income loan programs under-written by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and exclusive to Chicago residents. These investments will allow low-to-moderate income Chicago residents to purchase their single-family dream home and instill confidence in the market that helps catalyze additional economic devel- opment opportunities and contribute to a community’s well-being and vibrancy.

“Having investors target specific geographies and underrepresented groups with their capital will have a profound and lasting impact on the families and neighborhoods of Chicago that need it most,” said Annie Seelaus, CEO, Seelaus.

Seelaus was founded in 1984 by Richard Seelaus, originally as a municipal bond broker-dealer. The firm has since become a certified women’s business enterprise (“WBE”) and has grown into a full-service financial firm that is mission driven in its commitment to creating more opportunities for women in the financial services. Seelaus and its subsidiaries offer investment advisory, asset management, capital markets, brokerage, fixed income and equity trading, institutional sales, leveraged finance and insurance services. The R. Seelaus & Co., LLC subsidiary is a broker dealer registered with the SEC and member of FINRA, and the subsidiary Seelaus Asset Management, LLC, is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor (“RIA”). With various fixed income trading desks and more than sixty professionals, both entities serve individuals, families, public and private companies, non-profit organizations, and institutional investors. The firm has offices in New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, and Massachusetts. For more information about R. Seelaus & Co., and its subsidiaries visit ww w.rseelaus.com.

The City Treasurer’s Office is the custodian and manager of all cash and investments for the City of Chicago. Since her election in 2019, City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin has brought the public and private sectors together to provide comprehensive financial education and awareness programs that sharpen money management skills and impar t the financial knowledge that puts people on the path to a more stable and prosperous future. The Treasurer is one of three city-wide elected officials in the City of Chicago, with the Mayor and the Clerk being the others. As City Treasurer, she is committed to using a positive, results oriented approach with city departments. She works to restore the public’s trust in government that works for the people and applies an equity lens to all of the office’s programs and outreach. For additional information www.chicagocitytreasurer.com.