Nebraska Investment Council is investing $163m (€126m) in several real estate funds on behalf of a defined benefit pension scheme and an endowment.

The organisation, which oversees the investment management of several DB pension funds and endowments, will invest $150m from an $11.5bn DB scheme into three open-ended funds.

Commitments of $60m will be made to the UBS Trumbull Property Income Fund and the Cornerstone Patriot Fund, and a further $30m has been allocated to Pramerica’s PRISA II fund.

Nebraska Investment Council is also committing $5m to the Cornerstone Patriot Fund and $7.5m to Landmark Partners VII on behalf of a €1bn endowment, of one of several it oversees.

Jeff States, state investment officer for Nebraska, said: “The investment in the UBS fund should give the DB fund an additional layer of diversification.

“This is a debt fund that will provide new loans for core real estate assets. We think the projected returns for the fund are strong, somewhere in the range of 8% to 9%.”

States said the commitments to the core real estate funds managed by UBS Realty Investors and Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers were expected to called “over the next one to two quarters”.

He said: “This situation is something we looked at very closely before we committed new capital to the managers.”

The $2bn Trumbull Property Income Fund invests in office, industrial, retail and apartments in the US.

The DB Fund for Nebraska is already invested in the $3bn Cornerstone Patriot Fund at a $55m at the end of June.

The fund has been buying office buildings in San Francisco, including 33 New Montgomery for $149m, and plans to acquire 201 California Street asset for $133m.

PRISA II, a value-added fund managed by Pramerica Real Estate Investors, invests in a variety of property types in the US.

Landmark is targeting a $1bn capital raise for its latest fund and has already attracted $50m from the Nebraska DB pension fund. It will be buying limited partnership positions in existing funds on the secondary market.

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