Initiative offers a new way to invest in California

Next Monday, California is poised to sell $2.5 billion dollars in bonds, in part to fund hospitals, high-speed rail, education and other important state projects. In anticipation of the sale, our portfolio company Neighborly launched the Open Book Initiative, which allows all investors, not just institutional clients, to indicate interest in buying bonds prior to the order period. Investors will also receive updates on the book of orders being built, giving them transparency on pricing typically available only to the biggest investors.

Neighborly makes municipal bonds accessible and transparent by providing better ways for people to invest directly in the places and public projects they care about. The company announced a $25 million Series A funding round earlier this year, to further its mission of modernizing public finance. By liberating the process of funding municipal projects and re-engaging the “retail investor” in investing in their own communities, Neighborly is repairing — what we at the Govtech Fund refer to as — the “connective tissue of society”.

For a more detailed breakdown of Neighborly’s Open Book Initiative and how to place your bid, check out the company’s latest blog post here.