By Muskan Arora
The $28.75B Kansas Public Employees Retirement System committed $305M toward timberland and infrastructure funds within its real assets portfolio.
The pension fund disclosed in its recent investment meeting documents that it has allocated $210M to BTG Pactual Open Ended Core US Timberland Fund, along with an additional $95M commitment to IFM Global Infrastructure US Fund.
The BTG fund supports the pension plan’s interim and long-term targets of 3% and 5%, which were approved by the board in September 2024, noted meeting materials.
Established in 2016, the timberland fund’s portfolio includes assets located across three primary timber regions in the US. The pension plan expects to support its timber allocations by using capital from its real estate investment trust (REIT) portfolio.
The BTG fund is focused on investments across the Pacific Northwest, lake states and Southern U.S. The strategy includes timber harvesting and environmental value-add by collaborating biodiversity conservation and carbon markets.
As of May 2025, Kansas PERS’ $1.4B real assets portfolio consists of 48.6% in real estate investment trusts, 42.9% in infrastructure, and 8.5% in timber.
The allocation to the IFM infrastructure fund is the pension’s third allocation to the fund, following its inital commitments of $100M in 2015 and $50M in 2018. This core investment supports the pension’s interim and long-term infrastructure targets at 5% and 8%.
The IFM fund is focused on investments in transportation, energy, social infrastructure, and utilities. The fund has reported a gross return of 12% since inception, with first reporting in March 2017.
