Maine Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) is planning to redeem part of its investment in Blackstone’s core-plus open-ended US property fund to help balance the pension fund’s overweighted real estate portfolio.

Following a recommendation from investment consultant ORG, the pension fund is expected to urge its board to approve the issue of $150m (€139.5m) from Blackstone Property Partners, according to a meeting document.

Maine PERS, which issued a $350m commitment to Blackstone Property Partners in 2017 and currently holds $465.1m in the Blackstone fund. 

Blackstone revealed during its third quarter 2022 earnings that as of the end of September last year, Blackstone Property Partners had $72.7bn assets under management. The total net return for the fund is 12%.

Maine PERS has a 10% real estate targeted allocation. The asset class currently accounts for $1.9bn or 10.7% of the pension fund’s $18.1bn portfolio. The real estate value does not include $540m of unfunded commitments.

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