University of Michigan commits $40m to real estate fund

The Regents of the University of Michigan has committed $40 million to CREA Partners II, according to a document.

CREA Partners II, a real estate fund sponsored by Cypress Real Estate Advisors, will invest in residential and/or mixed-use properties with a residential component. The fund will focus on markets in the southeast and southwest United States with strong underlying fundamentals including positive job growth, population migration, attractive demographics, an educated workforce and strong housing starts.

Cypress targets assets it can acquire at a discount to market value due to the complexity of the transaction or where barriers to entry limit competition. Cypress then creates value through the development, redevelopment or entitlement process.

As of Oct. 31, 2017, the pension fund’s market value is $975 million and it has a target allocation to real estate of 10 percent and an actual allocation of 8.6 percent.