Pensioensfonds ING has reported a 7.2% return from its real estate portfolio for the third quarter of this year.

The €23bn Dutch fund said listed real estate was a particularly strong performer as it reported an overall 6.6% return across its assets for the period.

Listed real estate generated 9%, exceeding its benchmark by 50 basis points.

So far this year, the fund’s investments in listed property have returned 14.9%.

Real estate represented 4.8% of the pension fund’s assets, or €1.12bn, as of September.

The scheme’s combined private equity and hedge fund holdings returned 8.7%, leading to a year-to-date return of 15.3%.

Overall, ING pension fund returned 22% over the first nine months of this year.

ING has non-listed allocations in the US, as well as in the developed markets of Asia-Pacific and Europe.

Read a full summary of the scheme’s quarterly result here