In the world of institutional real estate investing, you might say there are two kinds of bears: wild bears and zoo bears. Wild bears roam freely and are always on the prowl for opportunities in the markets. They take carefully calculated risks and shape their own destiny. Zoo bears tend to stay within the confines of conventional strategies, waiting in their self-imposed cages for opportunities to come to them.

Judging by some of the directions in which the real estate investment team of the $358.4 billion California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) has been heading, I personally would place them in the “wild bear” category.

Led by former head of real estate Mike DiRè (who recently retired as head of real assets for the system), the CalSTRS real estate investment team has spent the better part of the past decade proactively prowling the markets for (and quietly capitalizing upon) opportunities that most other pension funds missed. (Credit also is due