COLUMBUS – The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s Board of Directors recently approved diversifying the State Insurance Fund (SIF) investment portfolio with the addition of real estate as an asset class.
“The board’s vote today gives BWC the opportunity to research professional real estate managers and consider joining other large institutional investors in real estate funds that own diversified portfolios of high quality, well-located commercial real estate,” said Robert Smith, chair of the board’s investment committee and president of Spero-Smith Investment Advisers, Inc. in Beachwood “This board, our professional staff and investment consultants take great care in the management of the $21 billion portfolio and any future investments in real estate funds will also be given careful review and consideration.”
The board’s investment committee recommended the revision to BWC’s Statement of Investment Policy and Guidelines following more than a year of research and reviewing relevant information provided by its investment consultants and investment staff. The revision allocates a targeted six percent of total SIF assets towards investments in professionally managed private real estate funds that own commercial real estate concentrated in the United States. This six percent targeted allocation will be divided with 4.5 percent towards open-end core pooled funds and 1.5 percent towards value-added pooled funds.
Achieving a six percent allocation of total SIF invested assets would require a long-term implementation over a period of several years.
The next meeting of the BWC Board of Directors is scheduled for Thursday, September 29.
Source: Ohio BWC