Cook County Annuity & Benefit Fund, Chicago, on Thursday approved $80 million in commitments to three commingled real estate funds.
The board of the $9.1 billion pension fund committed $30 million each to Blackstone Real Estate Partners VIII, managed by Blackstone Group, and Mesirow Financial Real Estate Value Fund II; and $20 million to AG Core Plus Realty Fund IV, managed by Angelo Gordon & Co.
Funding will come from a Russell Investments transitional REIT account, where the assets had been parked temporarily. No managers were terminated.
The assets were moved from U.S. equities in a rebalancing in 2011 that raised the pension fund's real estate allocation to the current target of 10% of total assets from 5%.
An RFP was issued Aug. 25. Investment consultant Callan Associates assisted.
