Magenta Gives Back

Ever since our inception in 1994, our founder has made giving back a priority. For the past thirty years, Magenta has contributed to the communities we operate and lend in.

Why Philanthropy?​

Progress is about more than just more- it’s about creating a more caring and just world. That’s why Magenta gives back to the communities we serve. Indeed, progress is achievable, when we not only believe progress is possible but are prepared to dedicate ourselves to the effort required to attain it.

Over three decades, Magenta has demonstrated this belief in our donations to organizations as diverse as:

• Canada Helps- Project Trauma Support,
• the Canadian Cancer Society,
• the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario,
• Free the Children,
• Interval House,
• the Ottawa Food Bank,
• the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation,
• Tree Canada,
• Trent University, and
• Red Cross efforts in Lebanon and Ukraine.

We’re in the business of making tomorrow not an anxiety to escape, but as a gift to cherish and hand down. As a business, we build better tomorrows in many ways like:

• in our capacity as a lender to grant borrowers the capital to take that next step into their future;
• in our partnerships with brokers so we can help them achieve success by fulfilling their alternative clients’ needs;
• as part of an investor’s plan to leave a financial legacy whether it comes in the form of shares or funds set aside for post-secondary education; and
• as part of an Investment Advisor’s investment options, offering access to a professionally managed portfolio of short-term, residential mortgages.

Leading From the Front ​

Our CEO, Gavin Marshall, leads by example, making his company (Magenta Capital Corporation) a place where ‘Your Tomorrow Matters’ is more than a slogan. In his own words, “We all want to build a better world. To do so is how we transcend today and touch the tomorrows we shall never see.”  Our CEO is someone who would not have been able to attend post-secondary education without the grants in place at the time. Therefore, the cause of access to higher education has always been close to Gavin’s heart. Gavin is:

• the leader of the Campaign for Momentous Change at Trent University (TU);
• has been an avid volunteer for many years serving as the inaugural chairperson of Trent’s Philanthropic Advisory Committee; and
• a member of the Advancement Board of Governors External Committee.

Marshall has lent his philanthropic support to several University funds and initiatives, including the Student Centre, an International Nursing Placement, and a Philanthropic Fellowship position.

Magenta’s Inaugural Purpose Day​

On June 12^th and 13^th, we participated in our inaugural Purpose Day- a day where Magenta facilitated our employees’ ability to volunteer in Ottawa and Toronto, the two cities our offices call home. For our first year, we stepped up in support of our local food banks: both the Ottawa Food Bank as well as Toronto’s Daily Bread. In Ottawa, we assisted with bringing in the summer harvest at the community farm, which will help stock the bank’s shelves with fresh produce, while in Toronto we sorted donations for distribution throughout the Greater Toronto Area. We look forward to using Purpose Day to explore future opportunities to engage with and uplift the communities we work in for many years to come!

Our Trajectory​

Magenta Capital Corporation will be participating in this coming GivingTuesday on December 3, 2024. Canada Helps created GivingTuesday in 2012. Canada Helps is Canada’s foremost online destination for connecting charities to donors. It started as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. The idea caught on and has grown around the world, inspiring hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity, with over 50 million dollars donated last year alone.

Every generation has believed in tomorrow. They wanted to build a better tomorrow for themselves and especially for their children. That’s the Magenta story. That’s why it’s important that Magenta gives back. Our team is committed to making meaningful contributions and aspiring to do more for our customers and our communities.

 

 

Selecting the Right Mortgage Investment Corporation 

Early on in your journey into alternative investment options, you likely came across the term Mortgage Investment Corporation (MIC). MICs have entered the spotlight in recent years as a key piece in both the wealth accumulation and the wealth preservation strategies of a variety of investors. This surge in popularity can be credited to the many advantages this investment format has to offer, such as reduced risk through diversification, as well as strong and reliable rates of return. 

Choosing which MIC is right for you is not as simple as who has the highest Return on Investment (ROI).  

Here are five factors to consider when deciding to invest in a MIC:  

1. Liquidity 

Read the subscription agreement closely to see how quickly you can withdraw your investment.  No one wants to be in a situation where they need access to capital but are stuck in a long waiting period to withdraw an investment- and some MICs will only allow redemptions once per year.  

2. Consistency 

Ask for information on the actual ROI vs. target ROI of the past 5-10 years.  This will give you a sense of how accurate the MIC is at estimating ROI and indicate if the MIC can consistently meet or exceed target ROIs. While macroeconomic factors such as the Bank of Canada rate directly affect MIC ROIs, it’s still vital to look for trends in the data to determine the growth trajectory of a MIC.  

3. Risk 

Learn which housing markets you are investing in and what types of mortgages your money is financing.  The specific housing markets and types of mortgages that compose a MIC’s portfolio, whether urban or rural, first mortgage loans or second mortgage loans, are important factors that go into how a MIC determines interest rates and subsequently the potential pitfalls associated with an investment.  You should find a MIC whose acceptable level of risk matches your own.   

4. Reward 

Ask when and how dividends are distributed, especially if you plan to reinvest the dividend in the MIC, as the investment is compounded based on a predetermined schedule. Not all MICs issue dividends on the same schedule, some issue monthly, some quarterly, and others annually.  

5. Communication

Prudent investors keep tabs on their investments, and prudent MICs know that the best questions are the ones shareholders shouldn’t have to ask. Check to see not only that the MIC reports with clarity and regularity, but that they can handle ad hoc requests for information. You never know when you’ll need to be able to access relevant details related to your investment at a moment’s notice. Your prospective MIC should have an investor relations manager ready to answer questions, provide additional information, or help you understand the product.  

Investing with Magenta 

Since 1994, our goal at Magenta has been to empower our investors to build for their tomorrows and achieve peace of mind. Magenta has delivered strong returns and reliable income to our investors while safeguarding capital by applying a risk-mitigated portfolio strategy. The portfolio is constructed of residential, primarily first mortgages located exclusively in carefully selected Ontario markets. 

Investing with Magenta offers: 

• Flexibility 
• Liquidity 
• Regular income 

Founder & CEO Supports Trent University Nursing Students

Gavin Marshall, Magenta’s Founder & CEO, is also the leader of the Campaign for Momentous Change at Trent University. Gavin gifted $207,000 to Trent University with a significant portion supporting Nursing students who travel to remote villages in Central America to support vulnerable populations through health promotion and nursing education. This most recent gift brings Gavin and his wife, Susan Marshall, to $1 million in lifetime gifts. To learn more about Gavin’s involvement with Trent University, please visit: https://www.trentu.ca/news/story/36605.

 

 

 

 

Magenta | Women in Mortgages – Her tomorrow matters

At Magenta, our goal is to create a work environment where everyone feels welcomed, valued and supported to thrive in their careers and reach their professional goals. We are proud to share that our Senior Leadership team is comprised of 43% women and that women make up around 68% of our employees.

This year, we are pursuing our first ever Women in Mortgages campaign! We encourage you to keep an eye on our social media channels and upcoming blogs to learn more about how we are contributing to uplifting women within the mortgage industry. As part of this initiative, we will be a silver sponsor at CMP’s (Canadian Mortgage Professional) Women in Mortgage Summit! On June 1^st, CMP is hosting their inaugural event to amplify the careers of women within the mortgage industry through panel discussions, keynote speakers and fireside chats to create dialogue around some of our industry’s most pressing issues and discuss potential solutions.

Why support Women in Mortgages?

We believe in celebrating the positive impact women at Magenta have had on the company and our industry. We want to lead by example in hopes that our peers feel inspired to pursue their own initiatives and recognize the phenomenal contributions of women on their own teams. We strive to leverage diverse perspectives to achieve our corporate goals and find actionable ways to support the women within the mortgage industry, whether they are new or seasoned in their careers.

When presented with the Women in Mortgage Summit sponsorship opportunity, Our Chief Operating Officer, Greg Sinclair, confirmed that supporting this campaign was an easy decision: “Quite simply, Magenta would not be what it is today without the strong women that have contributed and continue to contribute to the Magenta story. By sponsoring this event we get to support the continued growth of women in mortgages and celebrate their accomplishments.” Studies have shown that when men are deliberately engaged in gender inclusion programs, 96% of organizations see progress.

CMP’s event provides us with an opportunity to highlight our female broker network and what they have accomplished. This event also allows us to acknowledge the challenges faced by women in the mortgage industry. We are thrilled to be a key sponsor for an event designed to break down barriers and level the playing field for long-term success because her tomorrow matters. 

Allyship

At Magenta, we create a culture that exhibits allyship and provides a safe space for people to express ideas, feelings, challenges, and opportunities regardless of gender, race, orientation, or background. We’re at our best when we collaborate and leverage the diverse perspectives and knowledge of our team. If we limit any one person’s ideas, we’re limiting ourselves.

Our Founder & CEO firmly believes that “we find the best people and hire them. [He] believe[s] passionately in equality of opportunity.”

We create collaborative teams and encourage our employees to commend work well done while respectfully challenging one another to produce the best possible results. To achieve this goal, we first acknowledge that everyone has unconscious biases.

Unconscious bias is sneaky and affects our day-to-day interactions and decision- making. Even those with the best intentions can be swayed by assumptions shaped by external factors like the media or life experiences without knowing it. To overcome unconscious bias and be true allies, we should accept that we all have biases, listen carefully to the individual perspectives of others, make informed decisions, and recognize the influences in our own backgrounds, both personally and professionally, that may have given us advantages that weren’t available to others. The end goal is to ensure that everyone, regardless of who they are, has equal opportunities to contribute and succeed in the workplace.

Tips on how to be an Ally

Here are some actionable items we try to exhibit in our day-to-day:

Listen. Don’t just hear: Listen carefully to what your colleagues are saying, and asking for, in order to properly address what they want or need.

Prepare and be informed: Before presenting to your team, or leading large group discussions, prepare with colleagues and talk about the approach you’d like to take. It will help you recognize and unlearn unconscious biases. It will also give you the opportunity to recognize intersectionality within your team.

Respect your colleagues’ time: No one likes to be told what to do.  No matter their position in the organization, they have commitments, and they need to deliver on them. Ask them how you can support them to achieve what needs to be done.

Communicate clearly: Don’t assume that what you know is what your colleagues know. Explain and share your rationale without being condescending.

Uplift your colleagues: Find opportunities for everyone to be acknowledged through forms of recognition, promotions or highlighting them in other ways.

 

The Future of Women in Mortgages

We are committed to recognizing women in mortgages throughout the year. We encourage our broker community and industry partners to engage with us on our social channels and share how they acknowledge and celebrate women in our industry, because #hertomorrowmatters.

For more information on CMP’s event, please visit: https://womeninmortgage.ca.

Five Discussions to have with your Clients

As a new Mortgage Agent there is a lot of information to take in including processes and regulations. Learning how to conduct a thorough client interview and submit an application in good order is key to hitting the ground running. Successful Mortgage Agents provide full, detailed applications and clearly demonstrate that they know their client. How do you do that effectively? You ask the right questions, listen and take notes.

Here are 5 basic conversations to have with your client to help you gather the information you need:

Question 1: “Tell me about your credit history.”

Your follow-up questions should cover:

• How long they have had credit
• How they pay their credit, i.e. paying minimum payment or full balances
• Whether they have missed payments
• If they have co-signed any loans
• If they have had any collections, judgments, support payments, bankruptcies
• Whether they have filed/paid their income taxes and are they up to date on property taxes

Question 2: “Tell me about your income.”

Your follow-up questions should cover:

• All sources of income
• If they are self employed, how the business is set up, i.e. sole proprietorship or incorporated
• How long have they been at their current and previous jobs
• How stable and consistent is their income?

Question 3: “Tell me about your property.”

Depending on whether it’s a new purchase or refinance, your follow-up questions should cover:

• What type of property is it, i.e. owner occupied, rental, mixed use
• How long have they lived there
• Any improvements they have done or improvements needed
• Unique features of the home
• Known negatives, e.g. previous fire or flood damage

Question 4: “Tell me about your future plans and goals.”

Your follow-up questions should cover:

• How long they intend to stay in their home
• Whether they expect lump sums of income, e.g. work bonuses, inheritance etc.
• Any anticipated job changes
• Expected changes to family, e.g. newborn children or college costs

Question 5: “Tell me what’s important to you about your mortgage.”

Your follow-up questions should cover whether their priorities include:

• Flexible payment options
• Prepayment penalties
• Portable/assumable
• Lowest payment vs quickest payoff

An effective Mortgage Agent will take the time to have a thorough conversation with their clients, personalize the experience by asking the right questions, and then listen. Once you have a complete picture of your client’s situation, you can readily place them with the lender with whom they have the best fit.

Three tips to packaging your deals

Are you doing all that you can to package your deal for success?  Making your deal ‘lender friendly’ is the easiest and quickest way to get an approval.

Here’s what your lender wants to see:

• Documents up front. Sending most of the needed the documents right after you hit submit is one of the best things you can do to make your deal a success. This is especially true if you’re submitting a purchase.
• Clear broker notes. By telling the underwriter exactly what you’re sending and requesting exactly what you need on a submission, you’re more likely to get the answer you want.  What’s more, you’ll probably get a faster turnaround time too! Want a rate special? Ask for it! Have unusual income? Acknowledge it in the notes!
• Accurate details. Ensuring that there are no typos in the borrower names or property address is crucial to putting together a successful package. For instance, a typo in a postal code can mean your deal is rejected for being outside a lender’s preferred lending area.  The details definitely matter, so take the time to get them right!

Lender Top Tip:  Use the borrower’s ID to enter their details into your system. This will minimize any spelling or numeric errors.

Taking the time to cover these 3 steps for every deal should mean the pathway to a successful closing is smooth. Try it!