UNITED STATES - New York State Teachers Retirement System has placed $674m (€492.3m) into new real estate commitments through a series of fund investments which includes commercial mortgage-backed securities.

NYSTRS’ real estate portfolio was valued at $6.9bn to the end of June and represented just 6.5% of $104.9bn in assets under management but one of its latest investment allocations is to CMB securities managed by BlackRock FM, ING Clarion Capital and Prima Capital Advisors.

Along with a wide range of investments in real estate funds, NYSTRS has invested $250m in commercial mortgage-backed securities to give it diversification through securitisation of office, industrial, retail and apartment properties.

At the same time, the pension fund has also acquired two direct investments in property, including a 304-unit apartment block in Moreno Valley, California worth $47.5m and a 420-unit apartment block in Rancho Cucamonga, California priced $91m.

Elsewhere, it has committed $110m to Rockpoint Real Estate Fund III commingled fund, $50m to ING Development Ventures III, $25m to Penwood Select Industrial Partners II, $50m to O’Connor North American Property Partners II and $50m to AG Realty Fund VII, as part of this total allocation.