Afore XXI Banorte targets $1 billion in international private equity, real estate

Afore XXI Banorte, one of the largest pension fund administrators in Mexico, plans to commit $1 billion to private equity and real estate outside Mexico this year, said Juan Manuel Valle Perena, CEO, on a panel Tuesday at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Because of a change in regulation, Afore XXI Banorte, which has $40 billion in assets under management, can now invest in private equity and real assets outside of Mexico; but the capital must be raised in Mexico, he said. In addition, Afore plans to invest about $100 million in venture capital in Mexico in the next six months, Mr. Valle Perena said in an interview.

However, there are not plans to invest in infrastructure outside of Mexico because the country has more interesting infrastructure opportunities than exist elsewhere in the world, he said.

Mr. Valle Perena said about 40% of the afore's portfolio is invested in domestic equity and about 10% of the portfolio is in real assets.