Updated with correction
Illinois State Universities Retirement System, Champaign, approved two new commitments totaling $125 million.
The $22.5 billion pension fund's board approved commitments of $75 million to Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners IV, a global opportunistic real estate fund managed by Brookfield Asset Management, and $50 million to infrastructure fund Ember Infrastructure Fund I at its June 4 meeting, a news release said Tuesday.
SURS previously committed $35 million to Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners Fund III in 2018 and $35 million to Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners II in 2015.
The pension fund's actual allocation to non-core real assets is 2.2%; the target is 5%.
Separately, the board on June 4 approved lowering the long-term investment rate of return to 6.5% from 6.75%. The change was recommended by actuary Gabriel Roeder Smith & Co., following an actuarial experience study.
Also, the board approved new long-term target allocations to be implemented over the next several years, the news release said.
The long-term target for traditional growth assets was increased to 35% from 25% and non-traditional growth assets to 16% from 15%, while targets to stabilized growth were reduced to 17% from 26%, crisis risk offset to 19% from 20% and inflation-protection assets to 5% from 6%. The target to principal protection assets remains unchanged at 8%.
Traditional growth assets consists of domestic, global and international equities; stabilized growth consists of credit fixed income, option strategies and stabilized real assets; non-traditional growth consists of non-core infrastructure, non-core real estate and private equity.
Principal protection assets include core fixed income, inflation protection includes commodities and Treasury inflation-protected securities, and crisis risk offset includes long-duration Treasuries, systematic trend following and alternative risk premium portfolios.
As of March 31, the actual allocation (including overlay) was 41.9% traditional growth; 22.7% stabilized growth; 10.6% non-traditional growth; 9.2% crisis risk offset; 8.8% principal protection; 5.8% inflation protection and 1% cash.
Finally, the board hired executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles to conduct a search for an executive director. Martin Noven, SURS' previous executive director, resigned in February. Chief Benefits Officer Suzanne Mayer is currently serving as acting interim executive director.
Beth A. Spencer, SURS spokeswoman, said the job listing will eventually be posted on the fund’s website.
