California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) is not planning to avoid the UK as it increases its allocation to real estate.
The $189bn (€172bn) pension fund, which is increasing its property quota from 13% to 14%, told IPE Real Estate it would not moderate its exposure to UK or continental Europe as a result of Brexit.
CalSTRS said it is “always looking for good opportunities in all markets”.
According to a board meeting document, CalSTRS will invest in low to moderate-risk strategies with a focus on cash flows.
The new allocation has been set for the pension fund’s 2016-17 fiscal year, which starts on July 1.
It is unclear how much capital will made available for new investments as a result of the change, as the actual allocation is very fluid due to changes in valuations, sales and refinancing of assets.
The pension fund is close to its target allocation, it said, and capital will be committed as and when opportunities that meet its parameters become available.
In the US, CalSTRS is looking to grow its core portfolio and increase its exposure to office, retail and industrial assets.
In will do this partly through value-add and development activities, creating core assets rather than buying them and so avoiding competitive bidding.
CalSTRS is also planning to reduce its significant exposure to pre-2008 vintage funds, according to a board meeting document.
It has around $4bn or 15% of the total real estate portfolio in closed-end funds that were launched before the global financial crisis.
These older funds have impaired the overall performance of the real estate portfolio. The pension fund’s investment staff will aggressively push for liquidation of the investments over the next three years.
Similarly, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has been selling off its large legacy portfolio of closed-ended fund investments.
