Nebraska Investment Council is planning to resume core real estate investment this year with a $100m (€93.5m) allocation, according to the pension fund’s meeting document.

Nebraska Investment, which paused its investments into core real last year because of a rising interest rate environment, now intends to use the unallocated $100m from 2022 in the current year.

The Townsend Group, Nebraska Investment’s real estate consultant, recommends that the capital should be used in 2023 when conditions recover.

For non-core real estate, the consultant recommends a pacing plan of around $50m for this year, an amount that could be exceeded, depending on opportunities.

According to the meeting document, the pension fund has approved a $64m commitment to Oaktree Real Estate Opportunities Fund IX, a non-core fund seeking to raise between $5bn to $6bn to invest mainly in the US.

This commitment to the Oaktree Real Estate fund comprises a $50m contribution from the Nebraska Defined Benefit and Cash Balance Benefit Plans, $10m from the Omaha School Employees’ Retirement System and $2m each from the General Endowments and the Health Care Endowment.

The Oaktree Capital Management fund targets a net internal rate of returns of 15% to 17%.

The fund, which could target some investments Europe and Asia, will look to find assets through distressed debt acquisitions, rescue financings, discounted debt purchases and equity recapitalisations.

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