REIT manager Urdang to run $25 million

Oklahoma Commissioners of the Land Office, Oklahoma City, hired Urdang Securities Management to handle $25 million in REITs, said Phyllis Bolt, investment director for the $1.5 billion school land trust. Urdang will invest in multiple public REITs on behalf of the fund. Funding comes from cash. Urdang is the fund’s first REIT manager; the school land trust entered the asset class for diversification and income, as it can invest only in dollar-denominated securities traded on U.S. exchanges and can distribute only income. The initial allocation is expected to double to a target 3% of total assets, but the fund will not likely add REIT managers, Ms. Bolt said. R.V. Kuhns assisted; no RFP was issued.