It's been one year since Virtua Partners launched the very first Qualified Opportunity Fund. Since then, they have raised $100 million, roughly half of which has already been deployed; they've broken ground on numerous projects, and have a pipeline of about 100 more.

Quinn Palomino is principal at Virtua Partners, a global private equity firm that specializes in commercial real estate, and manager of four Opportunity Zone funds.

Show notes and transcript on OpportunityDb.com

Should Qualified Opportunity Funds best practices include third-party administration? And what are some Opportunity Zone trends being noticed by the industry's largest service provider?

Reid Thomas is executive vice president and general manager of NES Financial, a Silicon Valley-based fintech company that provides a purpose-built administration solution for Qualified Opportunity Funds.

Show notes and transcript on OpportunityDb.com

What is the biggest problem in the Opportunity Zone space today? And why is there pushback from potential investors with capital gains?

Justin Wolk is a capital advisor for StackSource, a New York City-based real estate technology company that connects commercial real estate developers with lenders.

Show notes and transcript on OpportunityDb.com

What are some of the most important legal considerations when forming an Opportunity Zone Fund? What are some of the pros and cons of corporation, partnership, REIT, and synthetic fund structures?

Jessica Millett is partner, chair, and "Wizard of OZ" of the tax practice group at Duval & Stachenfeld, a real estate law firm headquartered in New York City.

Show notes and transcript on OpportunityDb.com

The second tranche of regulations that were published two months ago clarified many questions regarding opportunity zone businesses. What are some strategies for operating business investment that OZ funds should consider?

M&A attorney Ashley Tison is founder and CEO of the Charlotte, NC-based Ōz group of companies (pronounced OHz). Ōz is an opportunity zone consulting group and manager of a qualified opportunity fund that invests in operating business.

Show notes and transcript on OpportunityDb.com

Why does a trade association for Qualified Opportunity Funds want more data collection and reporting? And could the Opportunity Zone program be renewed at some point in the future?

Senator Tim Scott's former tax adviser, Shay Hawkins is founder and president of the Opportunity Funds Association (OFA) -- a Washington, DC-based advocacy, education, and communications group for the Qualified Opportunity Fund industry.

Show notes and transcript on OpportunityDb.com

How can incubating local businesses in shipping containers achieve Opportunity Zone community activation and gentrification without displacement?

Sasha Favelukis is founder of CoPlace, a San Diego-based investment and advisory firm that specializes in community activation.

Show notes and transcript on OpportunityDb.com

Will office real estate be the driver for much of the economic growth across the nation's Opportunity Zones?

Clint Myers is partner at Revolution's Rise of the Rest, a seed fund that invests in startups located outside of locations that traditionally receive startup funding -- an approach that has a lot of overlap with the Opportunity Zones policy. 

Show notes and transcript on OpportunityDb.com

Are Opportunity Zone Funds actually raising any money yet?

Chris Loeffler is co-founder and CEO of Caliber, an Arizona-based alternatives investment management firm that was among the first to launch a Qualified Opportunity Fund last year, a fund which has already raised $40 million, is actively deploying capital to Opportunity Zones, and is expected to hit their $500 million raise target within two years.

Show notes and transcript on OpportunityDb.com

How can the resources of the Federal government be leveraged to help deliver generational impact to Opportunity Zone communities?

Scott Turner is the newly appointed executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council -- a group of cabinet members and White House officials charged with coordinating Federal agency efforts to magnify the impact of investments in Opportunity Zones.

Show notes and transcript at OpportunityDb.com