Dutch Pension Fund Kicks its Second $100M into Behringer Harvard’s Multi-Family Portfolio

Following its initial $100 million commitment last May, Dutch pension fund PGGM has made a commitment to invest an additional $100 million in Behringer Harvard’s growing portfolio of Class A apartment communities. PGGM has an option to expand its commitment to a total of $300 million.PGGM is a pension fund for Dutch healthcare workers, Mark Alfieri, BH senior vp/real estate, told CPN today, and with more than $100 billion in assets, it’s the second-largest pension fund in The Netherlands, the 8th-largest in Europe and the 17th-largest in the world. In a prepared statement, Robert Behringer, founder & CEO of Dallas-based Behringer Harvard, noted that since initially partnering with PGGM in May, his company “has completed, or is in the final stages of completing, transactions in 11 outstanding Class A apartment assets.” These transactions are or will be in the Washington, D.C.; Las Vegas; Atlanta; Dallas; Houston; Fort Lauderdale; and Denver metro areas. Though PGGM has long been a serious investor in U.S. real estate (they were the largest shareholder in Equity Office), Alfieri said, this is the pension fund’s first direct investment in U.S. real estate. BH and PGGM are co-investing with multi-family developers such Fairfield Residential, Trammell Crow Residential and the Altman Cos., he explained, and are talking to others as well. “This is really our first foray into the co-investment world.” The partner’s shared strategy, Alfieri told CPN, is to focus on high-end developments in high-barrier locations, primarily in coastal states and to hold these assets for seven to 10 years. About 85 percent of PGGM’s initial $100 million has deployed as of now, Alfieri said. BH will provide strategic management for each joint venture, including acquisition, asset management and disposition services; legal and accounting services; and property management.