Illinois Municipal makes $650m first infra allocations

The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund has made its first allocations to the infrastructure asset class, approving on Friday $650 million to four listed and unlisted vehicles.

The IMRF’s board earmarked $300 million to Cohen & Steers’ listed infrastructure fund and $150 million to Brookfield’s Global Listed Infrastructure Income Fund. For unlisted vehicles, the institution committed $100 million to Partners Group’s Direct Infrastructure 2016 vehicle and $100 million to the Oaktree Transportation and Energy Infrastructure Fund.

Oaktree Capital Management announced last month it would reposition its debut infrastructure fundraise into two separate vehicles, including “the first and only US-dedicated transportation infrastructure fund”.

The four allocations are part of the $37.6 billion pension’s strategy to increase by 2 percent its exposure to public real assets. Its board approved last November the change in asset allocation and issued a request for proposals in February. A reduction in US equity, which was past its 6 percent target as of 31 March, will fund the change in allocation.

The pension’s asset mix as of 31 March included 5 percent allocated to real estate, with an 8 percent target, and 3 percent to alternatives, a category for which it also has an 8 percent objective.

The IMRF was the second pension to announce its debut infrastructure allocation last week, after Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund made its inaugural $100 million commitment to IFM Investor’s open-ended Global Infrastructure Fund.