Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois is investing with the Fortress Group and The Rockpoint Group for the first time.

The pension fund told IP Real Estate it is committing $100m (€88.4m) each to Fortress Japan Opportunity Fund III and Rockpoint Real Estate Fund V.

The Fortress fund is pursuing an opportunistic strategy in Japan, according to Illinois Teachers, including buying properties directly, purchasing distressed debt and injecting capital into real estate operating companies.

Rockpoint is marketing its fund as a predominantly US opportunistic strategy.

It will invest mostly in gateway markets, including San Francisco, Boston and New York City, but it could invest outside the US in markets like London and Paris. Fund V will invest across sectors and in single properties and portfolios.

Rockpoint is seeking to raise $2.5bn and will co-invest 1.5% of the total capital commitments.

The manager is targeting gross returns of between 18% and 20% with an equity multiple of at least 1.6x.

Illinois Teachers has a $5.8bn real estate portfolio, just below its 13% target allocation.