NORTH AMERICA – The Connecticut Retirement Plans & Trust Funds is planning to increase international exposure in its real estate portfolio.

The pension fund's real estate consultant, the Townsend Group, stated in its second-quarter portfolio review that Connecticut's international allocation currently accounted for 11.9% of its total real estate portfolio. 

The pension fund is seeking to expand this to 20%, chiefly through commingled fund commitments in distressed European markets. 

The pension fund also has also opened a new $150m (€115.7m) separate account with American Realty Advisors to acquire core property throughout the US.

The pension fund has a real estate portfolio valued at $1.2bn, as at 30 June. 

In other investment news, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund has approved a $100m commitment into the Stonepeak Infrastructure Fund.

The pension fund has become the third major institutional investor to place capital into the fund. 

According to a fund document from Oregon, the $1bn fund has received $400m from TIAA-CREF and $250m from the Washington State Investment Board.

The Stonepeak Fund will target infrastructure investments in the North America middle market. 

This will primarily be with water and utilities, energy and transportation sectors. 

The deal size for the fund will involve equity commitments in the range of $50m to $200m.

Oregon PERF wrote in a board meeting document that the fund would target an equity return in the mid-teens range with strong cash-on-cash current yields and inflation linkage.
 

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