The $95.2 billion Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) is a relative newcomer to the real estate asset class, but in a little more than five years it has quickly grown its portfolio and become one of the industry’s most active investors. Larry Gray,editor of The Institutional Real Estate Letter – North America recently spoke with Eric Lang, managing director, real assets, at TRS, to discuss the pension fund’s investment program.

Could you provide a brief history of the TRS real estate program and describe the current real estate portfolio as far as assets under management, actual allocations vs. target allocations, and current strategies?

The TRS real estate program started in spring 2006 with its first commitment