Illinois Municipal commits $150m in total to separate account fund

The $41.3 billion Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund has committed a total of $150 million to a separate account, according to Nisa Neely, senior communications specialist for IMRF.

The separate account fund, Artemis MWBE Spruce Program, is a real estate investment vehicle advised by Artemis Real Estate Partners. Illinois Municipal is the sole investor in this separate account, according to Neely.

IMRF committed $75 million of the total amount in 2017.

IMRF is committed to diversity in the hiring of emerging and minority-owned investment managers. During 2017, IMRF made $905 million in commitments to minority-owned firms, including Artemis Real Estate Partners, which is a women-owned real estate firm.

Artemis — co-founded by Deborah Harmon and Penny Pritzker in 2009 — is a real estate investment management firm that invests with best-in-class local operating partners, both established and emerging, in multifamily, office, industrial, retail, hospitality and seniors housing across opportunistic, value-add and enhanced core strategies.

IMRF has a target allocation to real estate of 8 percent.