Real estate commitments disclosed by California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) during the first half of 2018 amounted to $4.1bn (€3.53bn).

The $225bn pension fund told IPE Real Assets that the amount reported for the period was much higher than the $1.3bn it reported the same period a year earlier because it only revealed hard commitments like funds and completed acquisitions in 2017.

The figure quoted for 2018 includes commitments for separate accounts and joint ventures, it said.

CalSTRS, which owns a real estate portfolio of around $27bn, also said it expected the level of commitments to be lower in the second half of the year.

The commitments made in the first half of the year included real estate debt strategies. It is investing $300m in TCI Real Estate Partners Fund III, $250m in PCCP’s US Core-Plus Real Estate Debt Fund and $198m in a real estate debt joint venture with PCCP.

TCI Real Estate Partners Fund III is managed by UK-based TCI Fund Management, which is seeking to raise $3bn, according to sources that track fundraising.

The fund had a first close in March this year with commitments of $2.1bn. A second closed is planned for next month.

CalSTRS also committed $500m investment to the Fairfield California Housing Fund and $400m to CenterCal, a joint venture with Principal Real Estate Investors.

The Fairfield fund invests in residential assets and CenterCal targets retail assets in the western region of the US.