IMPACTASSETS 50™

An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers

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An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers

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ImpactAssets 50: A Global Landscape of Impact Investment Fund Managers
The ImpactAssets 50 (IA 50) is the first open-source, publicly published database of experienced private debt and equity impact investment fund managers.
https://www.impactassets.org/impactassets-50

ImpactAssets 50

An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers

IA 50 2025 PROFILE

Apis & Heritage Capital Partners

Total Assets Under Management: $50 – 99M
Asset Class: Private Debt - Absolute Return / Notes
Primary UN Sustainable Development Goal: 10 – Reduced Inequalities
Community Development
Demographic-based Impact
Financial and Economic Inclusion

Firm Overview

Category: Mezzanine Finance

Apis & Heritage Capital Partners (A&H) is a minority-owned manager that buys great privately-held companies from retiring owners that have large workforces of color and low income workers and transitions them into 100% employee-owned firms. A&H builds value through hands on coaching, governance, and worker engagement. Over 40 years of data confirm that the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) ownership boosts enterprise productivity, profitability, resilience and retention. Our novel “Employee-Led Buy-Out” (ELBO) model makes it easy for owners to sell their business to the workforce. Employees do not "buy in"; rather, workers build wealth through earning shares in the business, which grow in value as the business grows. About two-thirds of Black/Latino workers retire in the USA with ZERO savings, whereas the average employee-owner from an ESOP retires with nearly $150k in savings, and often more, accomplishing our core goal of narrowing the racial wealth gap and attacking intergenerational poverty.

Firm Headquarters: United States
Years of Operation: 3 – 4 years
Total Assets Under Management:
$50 – 99M
Total Number of Investors: More than 25
% of Capital from Top 3 Investors: Less than 25%
Investment Thesis:

Apis & Heritage buys great companies from retiring owners that have significant workforces of color and low income workers and converts them into 100% employee-owned businesses, thereby empowering and building wealth for a group of workers so often left behind while generating attractive risk-adjusted returns for our investors.

Investment Overview:

Thousands of businesses will be sold by baby boomer founders over the next decade. A&H helps owners sell their enterprise to their workers while receiving a fair financial exit and anchoring the founder’s legacy through what we call "Employee Led Buy Outs" (ELBOs). A&H solves the red tape and financing hurdles for sellers that have inhibited them from selling their businesses to their employees. Post-investment, A&H creates value through better governance and by helping instill an "ownership culture” at the enterprise, which improves operations and margins (proved by 40 years of data). ESOPs also improve retention in tight labor markets and resilience during downturns. Because 100% ESOP-owned companies pay no Federal and usually no State tax, cash flow grows, retiring the leveraged transaction quickly and enhancing Enterprise Value. A&H’s ELBOs provide investors with low-risk credit income and upside through warrants and most important, create meaningful wealth for employee-owners over time.

Company Differentiator:

First, there is not a large "peer group" using ESOPs as the exit strategy for private company purchases (what we call the ELBO model). While there are a handful, none is focused on racial equity like we are; we expressly target companies with large workforces of color and low income workers, so that the benefits of employee-ownership will be shared disproportionately with workers who historically have been left behind (albeit all workers benefit). We are also unusual in that our founding partners have blended backgrounds in high finance, small business management and cross-sector investment expertise, which makes us uniquely suited to executing our ELBO strategy across the country. Finally, as a firm whose four out of 5 founding partners are people of color, we are in the too-small universe of diverse fund managers. In sum, we believe our expertise and backgrounds give us a tremendous advantage to implement our strategy.

Investment Example

Our first two ELBO transactions were Apex Underground in Denver, an underground sewer and water repair services company, and Accent Landscaping in El Paso. In each case, the owners founded the business 30+ years ago and had grown them into leading providers in their sectors. Each owner received several offers for their enterprise, but chose to work with A&H and our ELBO model because we offered a fair price and they liked handing the business off to their employees. In the two years that we have been with the companies, Apex has seen headcount almost double with revenue up 120%; at Accent, employee-ownership has led to rising profits even as we raised starting wages by 25%. In total, over 3/4 of the combined workforce are people of color. Both companies are ahead of schedule for repaying the A&H notes. Win-win-win. 

Leadership and Team

Cumulative Leadership Experience in Impact Investing:
30 years or more
Cumulative Impact Experience of Top Three Firm Leaders:
20 – 29 years
Todd Leverette – Founding Partner More Info

Todd Leverette is Managing Partner at Apis & Heritage Capital Partners where he brings over a decade of experience working with and for small business to bear on A&H and the portfolio companies in Legacy Fund I. Todd's work at A&H is a continuation of a life and career dedicated to bringing the tools and best practices of big finance and business to those communities and individuals that need it the most. Todd began his journey in employee ownership in Detroit, MI at the Center for Community Based Enterprise, where he discovered the power of alternative ownership models to change lives.

Philip Reeves – Founding Partner More Info

Philip is a founder and Managing Partner of Apis & Heritage. Based in Washington DC, Philip oversees all aspects of the firm's activities and is a permanent member of the investment committee. Philip is responsible for the firm's investment process and leads debt capital raises. He also brings more than a decade of experience scaling small businesses to A&H's portfolio companies. Prior to founding Apis & Heritage, Philip spent the majority of his career working with small businesses in private, public and nonprofit roles.

Jason Ollison – Managing Director More Info

Jason is a New York-based Partner, focusing on strategy, portfolio firm management & operations, business & investment analysis, economic & industry assessments, risk management, and Impact/ESG. He brings 25 years of global experience in International Business, Corporate Management, Investment Strategy, Risk, Impact/ESG, Consulting, Public Policy, and Operations whose diverse experiences as an executive “operator,” manager, advisor, strategist, and risk manager supports A&H and portfolio companies grow in a sustained manner, enhance corporate planning, improve operations, manage risks, retain workforces, identify opportunities, advance Impact & ESG activities, protect assets, build resilience, and analyze macro trends.

Financial Performance

Target Financial Returns Relative to Benchmark:
Market Rates
Actual Performance of Impact Products/Funds Relative to Target Financial Returns in the Past Three Years:
In line with initial target returns
Financial Reporting Frequency to Investors or Donors
Quarterly

Impact Performance

Percentage of Total Assets Under
Management that are Impact Investments:
75% – 99%
Primary Impact Outcomes:
Addressing racial inequities
Secondary Impact Outcomes:
Alleviating poverty
Increasing access to workforce development services, job skilling and retraining
Increasing access to healthcare services and improving health
Addressing gender inequities
Value-added Services Offered:
Business and legal training
Financial literacy training
Human Resources, recruiting and professional development services
Other: How to be an employee-owner

Investments systematically target companies where social and/or environmental impact is integral to the product/service being created:

Our entire mission is to buy private companies that have large workforces of color and low income workers and transition them into 100% employee-owned businesses. We compete squarely against Private Equity and strategic competitors, which often lead to job losses or consolidation, to create a new exit option for sellers. Our mission and vision is that front line workers, who too often retire with nothing except broken bodies, dreams and bank accounts, can instead retire with wealth, security and options. We aim to also provide our workers with access to better health benefits and financial literacy skills, which is part of becoming an engaged ESOP workforce. We can think of no more robust way to attack asset inequality and intergenerational poverty in our country than our ELBO model.

Investments systematically include social and environmental sustainability practices in the due diligence process:

First, our business model and theory of change rely on us buying companies that have large workforces of color and low income workers, so our initial filter examines these ratios. As we review targets, understanding the corporate culture is crucial since it helps determine whether an ESOP model is likely to succeed, so we dig deep to understand a firm's culture at all levels of the organization. Once we invest, we concentrate on building an ownership culture that is inclusive and team oriented through our ESOP training and management tools. As befits our model and our own firm, we will strive to ensure a representative board that brings talent and engagement to the enterprise. We also consider environmental sustainability in pipeline review and triage.

Impact Tracking and Monitoring

Impact is Tracked:
Yes
Impact Verified by an Independent Third-Party:
No
Social and/or Environmental Impact is Reported to Investors and Donors:
Yes – to the public
Third Party Validations:
Member of Impact Capital Managers
Impact Frontiers Cohort Participant
Implement recommendations from Task Force on Climate Related-Financial Disclosure
Net Zero Assets Managers Initiative
Utilizes standardized impact metrics (e.g. IRIS+, GIIRS, etc.)
Participant on steering committees or leadership roles within impact industry associations
Publisher or contributor to industry white paper or other research in impact investing

Learn More

Key Contact Name: Michael Brownrigg
Phone: 415-987-3230
Mailing Address:

14 Ridge Square NW 3/f Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 504, Washington, DC 20016 USA

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