New Mexico State Investment Council (SIC) has approved $175m (€153m) of new commitments for its $1.9bn real-return portfolio.

A spokesperson for the institutional investor confirmed that it plans to invest $75m in Brookfield Senior Mezzanine Real Estate Finance Fund and $100m in BlackRock Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Fund III.

The first fund is an open-ended vehicle targeting net returns of 6-7% by originating floating-rate loans for low-risk US real estate assets, syndicating the first mortgage and retaining senior mezzanine exposure.

A board meeting report from New Mexico (SIC) shows that real estate investment consultant The Townsend Group has advised that this strategy could provide some protection from a future market correction.

BlackRock has raised $2.1bn for its Global Energy Power & Infrastructure Fund III and is seeking between $3.5bn and $4.5bn in total.

It is seeking low double-digit returns, according to the New Mexico SIC report, by investing in conventional and renewable power generation, midstream energy, and transmission, distribution and other energy assets.

It will focus mostly on the US, but will also be able to invest in Mexico, Asia-Pacific and Europe.

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