Orange County Employees Retirement System (OCERS) has created a new real assets allocation that will form 22% of its overall portfolio.
The pension fund is combining its real estate investments and “real return strategies” into one enlarged allocation, according to a board meeting document.
OCERS currently has a 10% weighting to real estate and 8% in real-return strategies. It is combining the two and adding a further four percentage points.
Investment consultant Meketa Investment Group will be advising the pension fund on making new investments to reach the new target.
OCERS was already below its previous targets. At the end of February, its $1.1bn (€1.03bn) real estate portfolio represented 7.87% of total assets, while its $982m real-return portfolio represented 6.96%.
The pension fund has been an active investor in real estate over the past few years, mostly through non-core funds. It has invested in a mixture of value-added, opportunistic funds and debt funds.
The pension fund also invests in core real estate and real estate investment trusts (REITs) through funds and separate accounts.
The real return portfolio includes timber, energy and agriculture investments.
