State of Wisconsin Investment Board has under consideration four new real estate investment commitments totaling $300m (€287m), after generating a negative return in the first six months of the year.
The pension fund declined to comment but provided a list of its real estate investment opportunities being considered.
One is a potential $100m commitment to a joint venture with a new investment manager to invest in non-core industrial assets in the US. Another is a $100m commitment to a closed-ended non-core US real estate debt fund.
SWIB is also considering committing $50m to a fund investing in non-core speciality real estate in the US and a further $50m in co-investment capital.
SWIB produced a net return on its real estate portfolio of -4.52% in the first half of 2023, according to a pension fund board meeting document. Despite the negative return, it outperformed its benchmark – the NCREIF Fund Index – Open End Diversified Core Equity – by 385bps.
The $11.9bn real estate portfolio, which represents about 10% of total assets, also outperformed its benchmark over a full year by 281bps, generating a net return of -1.1%.
