Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board (Mass PRIM) is planning to drop Invesco Realty Advisors from a roster of managers that run a $1.5bn (€1.38bn) portfolio of real estate investment trusts (REITs).

The pension fund will transfer a $288m REIT portfolio from Invesco to Brookfield Investment Management, according to a board meeting document.

Mass PRIM said the decision was related to performance. Invesco was not available for comment.

In its peer rankings for returns, Invesco was ranked 66th over three years, 67th over five years and 77th over seven years. Brookfield was ranked 18th, fourth and first, respectively, for each period.

The portfolio has been managed by Invesco since 2014 when it was transferred from EII Capital Management.

Brookfield joined Mass PRIM’s roster of REIT managers in 2015 and, as a result of the transfer, will manage the second-largest REIT portfolio, worth a combined $524m.

The move is the result of a review of Mass PRIM’s REIT managers, part of its 2017 annual investment plan.

CentreSquare will remain the pension fund’s largest REIT manager, with $841m of Mass PRIM assets under management. Presima, also hired in 2015, is the fourth manager on the roster.

There are also two “bench” REIT managers, BlackRock and Timbercreek Asset Management, which are eligible in the future for $200m allocations.

Mass PRIM  said several factors made REIT investments attractive, including liquidity and exposure to hard-to-access assets and markets. These include central-business-district office buildings and other large assets, self-storage and data centres.