UNITED STATES - Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board has selected European Investors and RREEF manage global REIT mandates with initial investment of $100m (€68.9m).

A total of 22 real estate managers had responded to the pension fund's RFP for global REIT managers - its first foray into this space.

The other finalist for the account was Alpine but the pension fund made its decision to work with European Investors and RREEF at its board meeting on December 4,, assisted in its decision by its real estate consultant, The Townsend Group.

"We think that the global REIT markets are now maturing and will offer us an additional layer of diversification for our overall investment portfolio," said Mike Travaglini, executive director at Mass PRIM.

Its relationship with European Investors is a new one for Mass PRIM but the pension fund has been working with RREEF for several years, as part of its domestic REIT program.

RREEF had managed a REIT portfolio worth $270m for Mass PRIM to the end of October 2007 but with the new allocation, Mass PRIM has changed the investment mandate for RREEF from a domestic one to a global REIT strategy.

Both European Investors and RREEF will have full investment discretion over their accounts which means managers can make investment decisions without needing to gain approval from the pension fund.

The global managers will be investing in global REITs that own or operate real estate in Europe and Asia, and target the four main property types of office, industrial, retail and apartments.

Mass PRIM still has an active REIT investment program in the United States through INVESCO Real Estate, Urdang and Wellington. This portfolio was valued at $948m to the end of October.

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