IPERS invests $200 million in real estate debt

The $24.2 billion Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System (IPERS) has committed $200 million to two high-yield real estate debt funds

IPERS committed $150 million to Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies II (BREDS II), managed by The Blackstone Group. The value-added real estate debt fund was launched in October 2012 with a $3 billion fundraising goal.

BREDS II focuses primarily on high-yield lending on commercial real estate through new loan originations and purchases of legacy loans and securities, but may otherwise pursue a broad range of real estate debt and non-controlling equity investments. It seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns by primarily purchasing and/or originating performing loans.

BREDS II is part of the Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies platform, which was created in 2008 in