Marge Novak recently joined Berkadia as Senior Vice President and Head of Capital Markets. She will lead the affordable tax credit syndication team’s capital raising efforts.
Marge brings over 25 years of LIHTC experience to Berkadia, with specific expertise raising capital, recruiting new investors, managing investor relationships and coordinating overall capital raising efforts with internal staff and external partners. She previously served as EVP, Capital Group at Cinnaire where she was responsible for all capital raising efforts and was a member of the Executive Team and Finance Committee. During her nine years at Cinnaire, Novak led the company in raising $1.8 billion in LIHTC equity, some of the highest levels of capital in the company’s history.
We sat with Marge to discuss her passion for affordable housing, her observations about what’s next in LIHTC equity investing, and what she’s excited about at Berkadia.
What attracted you to work in affordable housing?
I always believed that safe and affordable housing was one of the most important, fundamental rights. Growing up, I was encouraged to help others in a meaningful way and that core value influenced my career path to affordable housing. I remember doing a research paper where I analyzed the Massachusetts “Anti-Snob” Zoning Act which encourages the construction of affordable housing enacted to address the shortage of such housing within the state. That research really got me hooked on the importance of affordable housing.
What are the biggest opportunities you see on the horizon in the affordable industry?
While we are all still coping with COVID-19 and the numerous changes we are experiencing in our daily lives as a result of this pandemic, it has brought to the forefront the importance of home, of where we live – and for many of us, where we now work, learn, perform, entertain – almost all virtually. Ensuring affordable, safe, technologically equipped housing is more important than ever. The need for affordable housing is greater than ever – and I believe there is a heightened awareness of the need to provide housing that can serve all of these purposes, and that is also affordable for people at all income levels. I am confident this will lead to increased investments in the affordable housing industry.
What brought you to Berkadia?
Berkadia’s overall stellar reputation as a leading company in mortgage banking, in particular multifamily, with a fully integrated affordable housing platform. David Leopold, a leader in the affordable housing industry, oversees an extremely talented team of experts in affordable mortgage banking, investment sales and tax credit syndication. We already have the diversification and integration that most other tax credit syndicators are trying to figure out, and we have an incredible team in place to execute.