Minnesota State Board of Investment commits up to $350m to Blackstone and Brookfield real estate funds

The $134.7 billion Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) has committed up to $350 million to two opportunistic real estate funds: $150 million to Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe (BREP) VII, and $200 million to Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners Fund (BSREP) V. The commitments were approved at SBI’s board meeting on Aug. 23.

Both funds will invest with a diversified strategy, with the Blackstone fund concentrating on acquiring under-managed, well-located assets across Europe, while Brookfield plans to make investments globally with its flagship fund. Both investment managers are seeking to raise upwards of $10 billion for their opportunistic funds, with BREP Europe VII targeting €10 billion ($10.8 billion) and Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners Fund V targeting $15 billion.

Prior to these commitments, Minnesota SBI had slightly more than $4.4 billion all