Iowa to issue REIT RFP

At an April 4 meeting, the $26.76 billion Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System approved a request to issue an RFP for a U.S. REIT strategies mandate. IPERS expects the RFP to be issued around May 1.

According to a board meeting summary prepared by Karl Koch, chief investment officer with IPERS, RREEF Securities (now part of Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management) currently manages a REIT mandate for IPERS worth approximately $350 million, but was placed on watch list for one year in August 2013 due to personnel turnover. 

Since that time, the firm experienced more turnover when a senior analyst/portfolio manager departed the firm, prompting IPERS staff and their investment consultant, Wilshire Associates, to recommend issuing an RFP to search for potential altern