The New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS) is backing Gaw Capital Partners in Asia with $100m (€87m) and Blackstone’s Europe fund.
The US pension fund approved two $100m commitments to Gaw Capital’s Gateway Real Estate Fund V and Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe V.
The pension fund’s capital, held within the opportunistic section of its real estate portfolio, will be deployed in retail, hotel and industrial properties in Greater China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia.
The pension fund considers the commitment a follow-on allocation, having already invested $75m in the Gateway Real Estate Fund IV.
The capital was part of a $1.025bn capital raise that closed in 2013.
NYSTRS said it believed now was a good time to invest in Europe, considering the availability of assets with the potential for renovation and/or recapitalisation in attractive locations that can be sold at a profit.
The pension fund invested with Blackstone previously in its Europe-targeted fund series, committing $200m to Blackstone’s Europe IV.
The commitments are part of $390m of new real estate investment issued by the pension fund.
NYSTRS is also investing $100m in CFIG-NYSTRA Real Estate Investment Partners II.
The pension fund is placing capital in value-add, core-plus/emerging-manager funds, direct investments and co-investments.
Capital will be invested in the US, focusing on the office, industrial, retail and apartment sectors.
A $90m commitment to the Kettler Multifamily Development & Repositioning JV III fund has also been approved.
The fund is investing in apartments in Washington DC, either through existing assets or new projects.
