State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) is planning to be “very disciplined” and avoid competitive bidding when making real estate investments this year.
The pension fund told IPE Real Estate that it would be “looking to avoid heavy bidding opportunities” and instead seek “motivated sellers that need quick and certain closings”.
According to a board meeting document, SWIB is below its real estate target allocation of 8%, which it set at the end of 2016. It has 6.5% of its investments in real estate.
SWIB expects most opportunities to acquire strategic positions to arise in the US.
The pension fund has a high exposure to core real estate, which as of April 2017 made up 71.5% of its real estate porfolio, well above its minimum requirement of 50%.
SWIB will be selling some of its separate account assets that it considers to be in non-strategic markets. These include an apartment complex in Detroit.