The New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYSCRF) has disclosed adding a number of US investments to its real estate portfolio including a $300m (€281m) commitment to an open-ended apartment fund managed by GID Investment Advisors.

The $280bn pension fund has for the first added GID to its manager list by making a commitment to the core/core-plus GID Mainstay Fund.

NYSCRF told IPE Real Assets that: “GID is a vertically integrated experienced manager and we were able to quickly deploy a large portion of our commitment into an existing portfolio with embedded value.”

NYSCRF said it also approved a $200m commitment to Asana Partners Fund III, a value-add real estate fund focused on repositioning mixed-use assets. Asana Partners recently announced raising $1.5bn for the fund within six months of marketing.

The Asana fund provides the pension fund with exposure to a segment of the retail sector that is supported by strong tailwinds and defensive to risks from e-commerce, the pension fund said.

“It will be tailored to take advantage of demographic trends and the associated working, living and shopping habits in an evolving consumer marketplace,” NYSCRF added.

NYSCRF said it has invested $121.2m via a new separate account with LaSalle Investment Management to acquire Sage on Palmer Ranch, a 257-unit apartment asset in Sarasota in Florida.

The pension fund also approved a $30m commitment to DRENS Fund I to invest and develop oversized vehicle storage facilities, recreational vehicle communities and industrial outdoor storage yards in the US.

It also made a $20m commitment to Corten Real Estate Fund II to target middle-market multifamily, office and hospitality investments.

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