Impact of Pension Plan Liabilities on Real Estate Investment

Abstract

Typical mean–variance models estimate pension plan allocations to public and private real estate as high as 50% or even higher. An asset/liability model of pension plan decision–making predicts much lower allocations to both private and public real estate that are closer to what we actually observe. Pension plans in different industries can have different optimal allocations to private and public real estate. Industry influences allocations to private real estate more than to public real estate.