Heitman is seeking to raise $500m (€458m) for an Asia-Pacific real estate fund, according to sources that track fundraising.
The investment manager has set a $500m ‘hard cap’ after securing $100m in the first round of fundraising for the Heitman Asia-Pacific Property Investors fund.
Heitman did not comment.
Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund is one of the early investors, having committed $50m.
The pension fund confirmed to IPE Real Estate that it had made the investment on the recommendation of its real estate consultant, The Townsend Group.
According to Ohio Police & Fire, the Heitman fund will pursue a two-pronged strategy, making value-add equity deals and investing in real estate debt.
It can invest in the retail, industrial and residential sectors as well as specialist property types, such as self-storage, senior homes and student housing.
Geographic targets include Australia, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore.
Heitman is targeting a net internal rate of return of between 10% to 12%.
Ohio Police & Fire has now approved real estate investment commitments of $100m this year. It is also investing $50m in a new US open-ended fund launched by Manulife Asset Management, as reported earlier this year by IPE Real Estate.
The pension fund has the capacity to invest a further $70m in real estate this year. Any investments will be made through funds and will target non-core opportunities in either the US or globally.
