NORTH AMERICA –The Marin County Employees' Retirement Association has decided to replace Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers with AEW Capital Management as a core, open-ended fund manager.

The allocation awarded to AEW was $15m (€11.2m) for an investment into the AEW Core Property Trust, the same amount that had been allocated to Cornerstone in July 2012. 

The pension fund chose to opt out of the Cornerstone Patriot Fund after its Portfolio Manager Brian Murdy left the company in September.

The other finalists in the search were JP Morgan Asset Management and INVESCO Real Estate, based on the recommendation of the pension fund's consultant, Callan Associates.

Jeff Wickman, retirement administrator at Marin County, said: "The pension fund was looking for a smaller manager to complement a commitment we had made last summer to the UBS Trumbull Property Fund. 

"Other factors were a low use of leverage, management stability and the ability of the capital to be called right away."

Marin County's $15m commitment to UBS has not been called and likely will not be for another nine months.

The pension fund's board also approved the filing of a redemption request to exit its investment in RREEF America REIT III, in which it has invested $15m.
Marion County feels the fund has been a "negative performer". 

In other news, the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois has approved a $50m commitment into the Gateway Real Estate IV fund, managed by Gaw Capital Partners of Hong Kong. 

The opportunistic fund will be making investments in a variety of property types in Hong Kong, China, Macau, Taiwan and other Asian countries.

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