Qualified opportunity fund Belpointe PREP, LLC said it will commence trading on the NYSE American LLC effective at the open of markets on October 18, 2021.

This is the first time in the US’ markets history that a qualified opportunity fund enters the public trading arena.

Belpointe PREP’s Class A units will trade on the NYSE American under the ticker symbol “OZ.” The company filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the offer and sale of up to $750,000,000 of Class A units.

Qualified opportunity funds invest in opportunity zones. Opportunity zones are communities nominated by the state and certified by the Treasury Department as qualifying for this program. The Treasury Department has certified zones in all 50 states; Washington, D.C.; and US territories. There are approximately 8,700 opportunity zones nationwide.

Part of the Belpointe family office, Belpointe PREP’s investments consist of properties located in said qualified opportunity zones for the development or redevelopment of data centres, multifamily, student housing, senior living, healthcare, industrial, self-storage, hospitality, office, mixed-use, and solar projects located throughout the US and its territories.

The fund also intends to acquire, develop or redevelop and manage a wide range of commercial real estate assets located throughout the US and its territories, including, but not limited to, real estate-related assets, such as commercial real estate loans and mortgages, and debt and equity securities issued by other real estate-related companies, as well as making private equity acquisitions and investments, and opportunistic acquisitions of other qualified opportunity funds and qualified opportunity zone businesses, with the goal of increasing distributions and capital appreciations.

Brandon Lacoff, Belpointe PREP’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are excited to bring Belpointe PREP to the NYSE American. Our innovative structure, as a qualified opportunity fund and publicly traded partnership, offers unitholders a number of key tax benefits—such as the opportunity to defer, reduce and eliminate the recognition of capital gains, as well as to receive pass-through depreciation to offset any taxable income they receive from Belpointe PREP, without depreciation recapture—and now, as the only qualified opportunity fund traded on a national securities exchange, we believe unitholders will further benefit from our enhanced profile and increased trading liquidity.

“In addition, as a result of our unique structure, Belpointe PREP, unlike any other opportunity zone structure in the market, will be able to opportunistically acquire other qualified opportunity funds with stabilized assets, thereby eliminating the construction risk.”