A number of U.S. public pension funds have made commitments to infrastructure managers.
The Dallas Police and Fire Pension Fund (DPFP) has approved a commitment to an infrastructure fund, according to a summary of an Aug. 8 board meeting. The pension fund has approved a $40 million commitment to the J.P. Morgan Asian Infrastructure and Related Resources Opportunity Fund II.
New York City–based J.P. Morgan Asset Management launched Asian Infrastructure and Related Resources Opportunity Fund II in April 2013 with a fundraising target of between $1 billion and $1.5 billion. The fund will invest in transportation, power generation, water and social infrastructure across China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and South Korea.
In addition, the $420 million Chicago Park Employees’ Annuity & Benefit Fund has committed $20 million to infrastructure, according to the July 20 meeting minutes. The commitments mark the plan’s first infrastructure investments. A motion was made to approve $10 million each to infrastructure managers Ullico Investment Co. and Industry Funds Management. The investments were part of a search issued in February. Marquette Associates, the pension fund’s investment consultant, managed the search.
Another public institution, the $7.7 billion Rhode Island State Investment Commission, committed $50 million to Industry Funds Management’s IFM Global Infrastructure Fund, an open-end commingled vehicle targeting core and core plus investments in primarily in North America and Europe as well as other OECD markets outside of Australia.
In 2012, the fund delivered a net return of 11 percent to investors, according to IFM.