Illinois State Universities Retirement System, Champaign, committed $195 million total to four non-core real estate managers, spokeswoman Beth A. Spencer said in an e-mail.
SURS, which oversees $17.3 billion in defined benefit assets, hired Franklin Real Asset Advisors to manage $90 million in an emerging manager non-core real estate fund of funds. It is anticipated that of the total, $30 million will be allocated this year and $30 million each of the next two years.
Separately, SURS committed $35 million each to the following non-core real estate funds:
- Blue Vista Real Estate Partners IV, a U.S. value-added fund managed by Blue Vista Capital Partners;
- Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners II, a global opportunistic fund that seeks commercial investment properties and is managed by Brookfield Asset Management; and
- Crow Holdings Realty Partners VII, a U.S. value-added fund managed by Crow Holdings Capital Partners
Searches for non-core real estate fund-of-funds managers and direct commingled fund managers were launched in 2014.
At the time, Daniel L. Allen, chief investment officer, said SURS was seeking to build the non-core component of its real estate allocation. Real estate has a 10% target; non-core makes up 35% of the target.
The other non-core real estate fund-of-funds finalists were Grosvenor Capital Management and Oak Street Real Estate Capital.
Investment consultant NEPC assisted with the searches.
