Illinois State Universities Retirement System, Champaign, hired BlackRock to manage $209 million in its global real estate securities index fund.
The move was made “at least temporarily” while SURS is “continuing to review the real estate investment program,” Daniel L. Allen, chief investment officer for the retirement system, said in an e-mail.
“At this time, it is undetermined whether we will conduct a search for another active REIT manager later in the year,” Mr. Allen wrote in the e-mail.
SURS has $1 billion of its $14.3 billion in defined benefit assets allocated to real estate.
The BlackRock index fund tracks the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Markets Real Estate index, Mr. Allen said in the e-mail.
Funding came from terminating the $125 million RREEF Securities U.S real estate investment trust and the $84 million RREFF Global REIT, both active funds. The terminations were for organizational issues, Mr. Allen said in the e-mail.
SURS did not issue an RFP because “the funds were moved into a passive strategy with an existing relationship,” Mr. Allen said in the e-mail. BlackRock manages for SURS a $98 million U.S. REIT fund and a $79 million international REIT fund, both active strategies, as well as equities.
Callan Associates, SURS' investment consultant, assisted with the changes.
