WHY AREN’T FAMILY OFFICES INVESTING INTO OPPORTUNITY ZONES?

In a study that I did at the beginning of this year, I asked over 100 family offices what their plans were for investing in opportunity zones.  The results were staggering.  17% said they were going to invest into an opportunity zone deal, the remainder reported no or maybe.   Now at the time, the regulations were not out, so that was a huge reason for many families to be sitting on the sideline, but now that they are out why are these numbers still holding up?   Well, I think there are a few reasons.  The first is I don’t think there is a distinct understanding of the nuances of opportunity zones by family offices.   I have spoken on this topic so much, or written articles or been interviewed on shows and podcasts and I have an excellent understanding of what these include and the benefits, but there are still nuances I don’t understand exactly.  One of the things that come up in sales is if something is hard to understand the person you are sitting across from won't buy.  I believe this is the case with opportunity zones.   I think there are aspects of these zones that family offices do not fully understand and thus are not investing.   In the next blog, I will list the second reason why I believe family offices are not investing in opportunity zones.