Jeff Shafer Executive Profile, CFP®, ChFC®

CommonGood Securities, CEO and CO-Founder

Jeff has always been passionate about the financial industry and has worked at Morgan Stanley and TriLinc (a leading impact investing fund sponsor), while spending the majority of his time, 19 years, with CNL, a leading alternative investment asset manager. Jeff served in multiple senior leadership roles, and as President, led his team in raising nearly $9 billion in capital for investments in real estate, private equity, and private credit. During his 19 years at CNL he was part of forming and launching eight public non-traded REITs, multiple private placements, and a public nontraded BDC in partnership with leading investment managers such as CBRE, KKR, and Macquarie. Jeff was a leader in the alternative investment industry that expanded from $500 million annually to over $20 billion.

Today, Jeff is co-founder and CEO of CommonGood Capital and CommonGood Securities where he sets the strategic direction and leads the team on this exciting journey. The second half of his career is focused on using investment capital to change and heal people’s hearts: both investees and investors. CommonGood Securities is a boutique impact investment firm that has invested more than $100 million in impact and values-aligned private investments across affordable/workforce housing, mobile home communities, renewable energy, emerging market private credit, climate smart forestry, and US private credit. In addition, CommonGood is investing in businesses run by or that hire formerly incarcerated men and women with the goal of creating a fund that would allow investors across the US to experience this joy alongside these men and women: Redemption360.

Jeff has served on numerous boards including the United Way Orlando, Crummer Graduate School of Business, Rollins College, and chaired the Elevation Scholar Foundation. Today he serves on the Good News Jail and Prison Ministry Board, Doug Holliday Ministries Board, NCF Orlando Advisory Board, and the Alumni Board of Wheaton College. Jeff’s Wheaton lineage goes back to his great grandmother, Corrine Smith, who was the first Dean of Women. It was at Wheaton where he found his passion for the power of capital, prison ministry, and the love of his life Shelly.

Jeff and Shelly settled in Winter Park, FL in 2004 where they love doing life together, whether around the dinner table, or keeping up with their two children, Ellie and Nick, who are both attending Wheaton College. You will often find Jeff reading non-fiction books, cycling, cheering on his beloved Oregon Ducks or tinkering around on their acreage out in the country with the family dog, Calvin, a black and tan coon hound. He also really enjoys interviewing amazing guests for CommonGood’s podcast: A New Lens. A verse that he strives to live out and impress upon other is: For where your treasure is so too will be your heart.

Jeff earned a Master of Business Administration from Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College (FL) and also holds the Certified Financial Planner and Chartered Financial Consultant designations, as well as FINRA Series 7, 24, 63 and 79 licenses.