Turning uncertainty into risk: why data are the key to greater investment

Proceedings of the Conference on the Secondary Market for Community Development Loans. The role of data dominated much of the discussion at the Federal Reserve?s Secondary Market for Community Development Loans Conference. In our discussions of how to attract new investors to the field, the group reviewed all the things that investors are looking for: volume, geographic diversity, homogeneous assets, etc. But what became clear was that, above all, investors need data. Any investment is possible only if the investor has the necessary information?the data?to decide whether to make an investment or purchase an asset. In this article, I provide overviews of how investors use data and what data they need. I describe three case studies in CRF?s experience of providing data to investors, and I conclude with some suggestions for how the field can improve its data collection and reporting practices.