Illinois SURS seeks private real estate manager

The $18 billion Illinois State Universities Retirement System is searching for private real estate and infrastructure managers, according to an RFP on the retirement system’s website.

In 2019, investment priorities for SURS are oriented around private core/core plus real estate (debt and equity), as well as private noncore real estate (debt and equity) and private noncore infrastructure.

The pacing target is $350 million for 2019; however, this could vary significantly. Directionally, SURS aims to substantially increase its investment in private assets, including real assets, over the next several years. The allocation to each individual core/core-plus fund is expected to range from $100 million to $175 million and the allocation to each noncore fund is expected to range from $50 million to $100million.

In addition, in 2019, SURS seeks industrial strategies for the core/core-plus allocation, and a broad range of strategies for its noncore allocation, including investments in the United States, Europe and Asia, with U.S. and Europe strategies being a higher priority than Asian strategies.

Callan, Illinois SURS real assets consultant, is assisting with the search.

Interested managers can submit applications at any time since decisions will be made throughout the year. The RFP can be found here.