Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) has earmarked $350m (€315m) for industrial-focused real estate funds.
The $49.6bn pension fund confirmed to IPE Real Assets that it is committing $100m to the Prologis Targeted US Logistics Fund and might add a further $150m to the $11.6bn vehicle in the future.
TCRS is also committing $100m to Exeter Property Group’s US Industrial Value Fund V, a fund that it is seeking to raise $1.6bn.
The commitments come at a time when US pension funds are increasingly seeking to gain exposure to the industrial sector.
Exeter’s fund is expected to be oversubscribed, while the entry queue for the Prologis fund has reached $651m, according to information provided by the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation Insurance Fund.
The Prologis fund is an open-ended vehicle with a core strategy, while Exeter is targeting higher returns by acquiring assets with short remaining lease terms, vacancy and redevelopment potential.
TCRS also approved four direct acquisitions through its separate accounts, including the $72m purchase of the 310-unit FountainGlen Golden West apartment complex in Orange County, California, through JP Morgan Asset Management.
It also paid $45.3m for the 150-unit Julian at Fair Lakes apartment asset in Fairfax, Virginia through Heitman.
DWS carried out two investments on behalf of the pension fund, making a $23.2m preferred-equity investment in the 493-unit 4th West Apartments community in Salt Lake City, and acquiring the First and Stewart office building in Seattle for $53m.
