US - New York State Teachers Retirement System has approved commitments to two new commingled funds totaling no less than $150m (€110.3m).
One of these commitments is for the ING Clarion Debt Opportunity Fund II and will see the pension fund investing no less than $100m or an amount equal to 20% of the commingled fund’s capital commitments. The pension fund believes that this investment with give it further diversification within its real estate portfolio.
The real estate manager on this fund is ING Clarion Capital, headed by ceo Daniel Heflin, and applies a investment strategy of investing in fixed income securities across the risk spectrum across the fund.
ING Clarion Capital now has total assets under management of $2.8bn in both separate account and commingled fund investments.
At the same time, NYSTRS has approved a commitment to invest up to the lesser of $50m or an amount equal to 20% of the commingled fund’s capital commitments to the Exeter Industrial Value Fund, L.P.
A final closing should take place sometime this summer by its commingled fund manager Exeter Property Group once the equity raise reaches $300m. There will be around 70% leverage employed on the fund, meaning the total capitalization should be in the region of $1bn.
The Industrial Value Fund is the first institutional fund for Exeter Property Group, a firm now led by Managing Principal Ward Fitzgerald, previously an executive with Liberty Property Trust.
This commingled fund has a varied investment strategy for investing in industrial assets such as warehouse-distribution, multi-tenant industrial and flex space, dealing with acquisition, development and redevelopment.
There are currently two existing assets in the commingled fund located in Pennsylvania and New Jersey but a there is a further search for deals in the East Coast and Mid South regions of the United States.
Exeter Property Group is expecting deals for this fund to produce leveraged IRRs of 18% to 20%.
Both commingled funds run for eight years.
