The Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (Kansas PERS) is to invest $175m (€156.9m) in a Pramerica Real Estate Investors fund.

The US pension fund is investing for the first time in PRISA, which targets core assets in the US.

Pramerica Real Estate Investors, known as Prudential Real Estate Investors in the US, declined to comment.

The commitment is part of Kansas PERS’s plans to invest $200m in core real estate this year.

The capital could be invested as follow-up investments with existing core funds, or through what would be a seventh manager in its core line-up.

In March, the pension fund chose to invest an additional $50m in the JP Morgan Strategic Property Fund, having previously allocated $125m in 2013.

Kansas PERS has also invested in Morgan Stanley Prime Property Fund, LaSalle Property Fund, Heitman America Real Estate Trust, UBS Trumbull Property Fund and Jamestown Premiere Property Fund.

PREA typically invests in a mixture of office, industrial, retail and apartments, as well as assets in the self-storage and hotel sectors.

PRISA is seeking a long-term IRR of 6.5-8.5% over a complete market cycle, according to a pension fund document from another investor in the fund.

Leverage in the fund is approximately 20.5%.