If you have a capital gain and want to make an Opportunity Zone investment, you only have 180 days. So where do you actually find OZ funds and deals that are open to new investors? The answer is the OZ Investment Marketplace at OpportunityZones.com, a curated list of deals and funds taking Opportunity Zone capital right now, filterable by sector, location and minimum investment, with the renderings, documents and details on each listing that an investor needs before the first conversation with an OZ project sponsor or fund manager.
On today's episode of OZ Live, Angela Hwang joins Jimmy Atkinson to discuss why OZ deals have been so hard to find, which asset classes are coming to market ahead of OZ 2.0, and what investors should ask a sponsor before writing a check.
Mentioned on This Episode
- Opportunity Zone Investment Marketplace (OpportunityZones.com)
- Get listed on the OZ Marketplace (OpportunityZones.com)
- Opportunity Zones Map (OpportunityZones.com)
- OZ Insiders Dinner in Washington DC (October 28, 2026)
- Novogradac 2026 OZ Conference in Washington DC (Use discount code OZCOM26)
About OZ Live
OZ Live is the monthly livestream hosted by Andy Hagans and Jimmy Atkinson of OpportunityZones.com, as part of The Opportunity Zones Podcast.
Episode Summary
Why OZ Deals Have Been Hard to Find
Angela Hwang's answer was simple: no platform has existed that allowed the funds to actively promote themselves. OpportunityZones.com has had a directory of qualified Opportunity Zone funds, and many investors know crowdfunding platforms such as CrowdStreet, but there has not been one place to learn about this fund and that fund. On those general platforms, she said, "you get lost in the crowd," competing with offerings aimed at all types of retail investors that may not be tax advantaged to begin with. With the permanence of the program, more advisers and investors are coming to the market and asking where to go.
Jimmy Atkinson added that an investor's first step is often a trusted advisor, and some advisors dismiss the program as something that no longer exists. He called the whole marketplace "rather opaque."
Inside the OZ Investment Marketplace
Every deal and fund listed is an Opportunity Zone investment currently taking Opportunity Zone capital, open to new investors, and qualified for the tax benefits. It is a curated list, not an exhaustive one: operators OpportunityZones.com has worked with, who pay to be listed or have sponsored events such as OZ Pitch Day. Investors can filter by sector, location, region and minimum investment amount. Each listing carries photos and renderings, an overview, any OZ Pitch Day presentation video, the location on the OZ map including whether the tract is eligible for redesignation under OZ 2.0, downloadable documents, and a request for information form routed to the sponsor.
Angela said that puts what an investor needs to make an informed decision in one place, instead of seven or ten steps. Asked about a filter for rural versus standard zones, Jimmy called its absence "a huge oversight" and said the team would correct it by the end of the week.
What's Coming to Market Ahead of OZ 2.0
Angela said multifamily continues to be quite popular and investors understand it, with more projects like workforce housing. Self storage is another, and she pointed to a report showing that asset class growing tremendously, along with some retail and others.
Jimmy said many presenters at OZ Pitch Day on November 12 will be teasing OZ 2.0 funds that won't open until January 2027, including a new oil and gas fund from U.S. Energy Development Corporation, an OZ 2.0 offering from Wyoming Reserve, and Urban Catalyst OZ Fund III. The online event is free for investors.
How to Vet an OZ Sponsor
Angela said OZ investors writing checks from $250,000 to a couple of million do much of their due diligence themselves. They look for a track record: who is on the team and what experience they have with these types of projects. They also want to know the sponsor understands QOZs, which sponsors demonstrate through thought leadership and content such as case studies for each eligible gain scenario. Her tip for sponsors: see what Gemini, ChatGPT and Claude say about you. If they have nothing, "that's a problem."
Jimmy added three questions: What is your ten year exit plan? What are the fees? And do you have skin in the game, with your own or your firm's capital committed?
Advice for Sponsors Raising Capital
Angela called Q4 a very important quarter. An investor with a gain from August faces a 180-day deadline around January and may not be able to deploy yet, but can learn the benefits now and give a soft commitment. Frances Kern Mennone added from the live chat that it is much better to have an education conversation before seeking investment. Once an investor inquires, Angela said, the follow-up is key: an explainer on QOZs, a case study for their type of gain, and what makes the team, offering and location different. Jimmy's version: "fortune's in the follow-up."
Live Audience Q&A
Jimmy's answers to questions from the live chat:
- Who pays fees to whom in the marketplace? OpportunityZones.com takes no cut of any capital invested and is not set up as a broker dealer. Sponsors pay a flat sponsorship fee, and all investments happen outside the platform, which is "really just meant to be a venue" for introductions.
- Can I access OZ 2.0 now? No. A gain invested into a qualified opportunity fund before the end of 2026 gets OZ 1.0 treatment, with the ten year benefit intact but no basis step up. OZ 2.0 kicks in on 01/01/2027.
- For a capital gain realized today, will it get OZ 2.0 treatment if I wait until 2027? Yes. The 180-day deadline for a gain realized the day of the show falls around March 18 or 19.
- Can I open my own QOF LLC and keep looking? Yes, and that checks the 180-day box, which has no cure period. The QOF then has its own timeline, including a 90% asset test on June 30 and December 31, and a QOZB with a working capital safe harbor plan can buy an additional 31 months per tranche.
- Where do you inquire locally about OZ opportunities? Start with the OZ map at opportunityzones.com/map, then contact the local economic development corporation.
- Do OZs have land-only opportunities? The program wasn't designed for land banking. You can acquire land, but you need to put something economically productive on it.
- Are these passive investments? For the most part, yes, though some operators may be open to a JV partner or another GP.
- Can we become our own sponsor? Absolutely, as long as the property is in an Opportunity Zone and is either new or substantially improved.
- What if an existing OZ investment's zone does not get redesignated? It's grandfathered in, more or less, and remains a good investment through the end of 2047.
- How did OZ 1.0 funds perform? There are no solid performance numbers yet. The first dollars hit QOFs in 2018, so no fund has had a tax free exit.
Novogradac and OZ Insiders
Jimmy and Angela will be at the Novogradac 2026 Opportunity Zones Conference in Washington, DC, on October 29 and 30, which Jimmy called the biggest Opportunity Zone industry event of the year. They'll take turns at the OpportunityZones.com exhibit booth, which will have autographed copies of The Opportunity Zones Playbook, and Jimmy is on the "Sizing Up Investor Demand" panel at 11 AM on Thursday, October 29. Listeners save 10% on registration with promo code OZCOM26, with details at opportunityzones.com/events.
On October 28, the night before the conference, OZ Insiders hosts a dinner open to all OZ Pitch Day sponsors and OZ Insiders members. OZ Insiders is the private mastermind community at ozinsiders.com. Reach out to Jimmy to join or to attend the dinner.