The Virginia Retirement System (VRS) has allocated $100m (€80.1m) to the core-plus Blackstone Property Partners fund.

The open-ended fund, which invests in a combination of core, value-added and opportunistic strategies, is targeting returns of between 9% and 11%.

Blackstone is looking to raise around $1bn for the US-focused fund.

VRS, which has previously made total commitments of around $1bn to Blackstone, regards the company as a Top 10 real estate manager.

The pension fund is the third to commit to the Blackstone vehicle, following $100m in overall commitments from the Arizona State Retirement System and the Texas Permanent School Fund – the latter being one of the first to invest in the fund.

Blackstone is co-investing $75m in the fund, which will be 50% leveraged.

The manager will buy larger properties and portfolios across the office, industrial, retail and apartment sectors.

Blackstone, traditionally an opportunistic fund manager, can buy either directly or invest in real estate operating companies.

VRS, which has no targeted allocation to real estate, had a total $6.84bn in its real assets category as of September.

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