Texas pension plan commits $20m to high-yield real estate

The $2.06 billion Fort Worth Employees’ Retirement Fund has committed $20 million to Hammes Partners II, an opportunistic fund managed by Hammes Co., confirms Joelle Mevi, executive director and chief investment officer with the pension plan.

Hammes Partners II was launched in 2013 with a $430 million fundraising target. The fund invests in healthcare-related real estate in the United States, including medical office buildings and ambulatory centers. It recently received a $25 million commitment form the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board.

FWERF has an actual allocation to real estate of 12.63 percent, as of Sept. 30, just shy of its 13 percent target allocation. The real estate portfolio had achieved a year-to-date return of 8.91 percent and a one-year return of 10.69 percent as of the end of September.