State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) is planning to invest in medical offices for the first time.
The pension fund wants to allocate $150m (€109m) to the alternative sector through a separate account with a specialist manager.
Vicki Hearing, spokesperson for SWIB, said: “Demographics in the US indicate an ageing population that will need increasing levels of medical care.”
Should the mandate be awarded, it will be a rare instance of a pension fund awarding a separate account for a medical office strategy rather than investing in the sector through a commingled fund.
The separate account would form part of SWIB’s core portfolio, which represents 53.2% of its total real estate investments ($5.7bn), according to figures at the end of 2013.
The potential move into medical offices would be part of a wider pipeline of new real estate investments that could amount to $376m.
This could include a $146m separate account to take preferred equity positions on value-added investments in the US office sector.
SWIB is also considering allocating $80m for a joint venture to invest in apartments in the US. The pension fund would own 50% stakes in all apartment assets acquired.
A quarter (25.3%) of the pension fund’s property portfolio is already comprised of office investments, while apartments make up 23%.
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