Maryland State Retirement and Pension System plans to invest tactically in undervalued shopping mall real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the US.
Morgan Stanley, which manages a $458m (€387m) global REIT strategy for the pension fund, has been given an additional $30m to take advantage of mispricing of listed owners of shopping centres, according to a Maryland State board meeting report.
Many investors have sought to the reduce their exposure to retail property in the US in line with the rise of online shopping. But some parts of the market have held up well, as retail owners of quality assets have adapted to the ‘omni-channel’ retail model.
Maryland State, which did not comment further, will benchmark the new separate account against the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Net Index.
The pension fund has also approved a $150m commitment to a fund that tracks the DJ Brookfield global infrastructure index.
The fund, which is invests in listed infrastructure companies, is managed by Rhumbline Advisers, according to a Maryland State board meeting report.
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