Fundraising

Texas pension latest BIF II investor

Teacher Retirement System of Texas put $300m with Brookfield Infrastructure Fund II.

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The Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) has committed $300 million to Brookfield Infrastructure Fund II (BIF II), a spokesman with the pension plan confirmed.

The investment marked the latest win for BIF II, which held its first close on $6.23 billion and is on course to challenge Global Infrastructure Partners II (GIP II) as the largest infrastructure fund ever raised.

TRS made a ‘real asset’ commitment to BIF II as part of a $550 million allocation. In addition to BIF II, the pension put $200 million in a real estate fund co-managed with LaSalle Investment Management. The spokesman could not provide further comment.

The US pension plan is experienced in investing in infrastructure: in 2010, TRS allocated $250 million to Brookfield Americas Infrastructure Fund, a $2.7 billion fund from Brookfield Asset Management (BAM), also the manager of BIF II. A 2009 white paper on the TRS website championed the asset class as “attractive”.

Brookfield in a regulatory filing revealed BIF II had amassed $6.23 billion, putting the fund just behind industry leading GIP II, which closed with $8.25 billion in 2012. Prior to GIP II, Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs had raised $6.5 billion for its Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Partners fund.

Brookfield had set an initial $5 billion fundraising goal for BIF II, which will spend between $200 million and $500 million per investment, targeting transportation, energy infrastructure and renewable energy.

The Brookfield fund will invest 40 percent of its capital in North America, while spreading 25 percent to Europe as well as 20 percent to Latin America, with the remaining 15 percent to be split between Australia and New Zealand.

In addition to TRS, BIF II has landed a $100 million commitment from Maine Public Employees Retirement System and a $100 million allocation from the New Mexico State Investment Council.

Headquartered in Toronto, Brookfield Asset Management is a $150 billion investment company with a $33 billion infrastructure business.