Pension fund commits to Japanese real estate fund

The $13.9 billion Hawaii Employees’ Retirement System has committed $20 million to Fortress Japan Opportunity Fund III, managed by Fortress Investment Group, confirms Vijoy Chattergy, chief investment officer with HIERS.

Not much has been made public about FJOF III, though its predecessor used a value-add/opportunistic strategy in Japan, targeting subperforming and nonperforming commercial mortgages with an eye toward obtaining control of the asset when the right opportunities emerge. Fund II, which closed in December 2012 after raising $1.3 billion, received a $20 million commitment from HIERS in May of 2012, according to IREI’s FundTracker Database.

HIERS has a 7 percent allocation to real estate, and targets a 70-30 core/noncore split in its real estate portfolio.