State Universities Retirement System of Illinois has approved $195m (€172m) of new commitments to non-core real estate.

They include a fund-of-funds strategy managed by Franklin Real Asset Advisors, which will invest $30m annually in emerging managers over the next three years.

The pension fund is also placing $35m investments with Blue Vista Capital Partners’ Real Estate Partners IV fund, Crow Holdings Realty Partners VII fund and Brookfield’s Strategic Real Estate Partners II fund.

Daniel Allen, CIO for Illinois State Universities, said: “Previous to these commitments, we had filled out our core allocation and we were looking to diversify our real estate portfolio.

”These investments should allow us to achieve higher returns as well.”

The investment with Franklin Templeton is designed give the pension fund access new property types and strategies.

Blue Vista IV is a value-added fund investing in US office, industrial, retail and apartment properties, as well as alternative sectors such as self-storage and gas stations.

Realty Partners VII, managed by Crow Holdings Capital, is a value-added fund that invests in existing properties and development opportunities.

The structure of its deals includes a combination of both debt and equity. Most of its transactions are with the traditional US property types.

Brookfield’s Partners II fund will give Illinois some international exposure to its real estate portfolio. The fund invests in the US, Europe, Brazil and Australia.

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