South Korean Pension Invests $300M in Blackstone Fund

South Korea’s National Pension Service, the fourth largest pension fund in the world, is planning to put $300 million into a real estate opportunity fund led by Blackstone Group, Reuters reported Wednesday. -cn

(Reuters) – South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), the world’s No.4 largest pension fund, plans to invest around $300 million in a real estate opportunity fund led by Blackstone Group, an NPS official said on Wednesday, amid the fund’s efforts to step up its investments in real estate assets.

The fresh commitment, although subject to final approval from its investment committee, follows the fund’s move to increase its alternative investments — private equity, infrastructure and real estate — as NPS wants to diversify the portfolio and improve returns.

An opportunity fund invests in properties that yield the highest returns as a reward for carrying the greatest risk.

The ratio of NPS’ alternative investments will reach 9.2 percent out of its total portfolio this year, up from 7.8 percent as of end-2011, the South Korean welfare ministry said in June according to an asset allocation plan.

NPS is the largest South Korean institutional investor with 346 trillion Korean won ($307.9 billion) in assets as of end-November.

The official declined to be named because the information has yet to be made public.

Blackstone could not be reached for comment.