CIC in talks with Harvard on real estate funds

China’s US$300 billion sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation (CIC) is in advanced talks with Harvard University’s endowment to acquire stakes in a half dozen US-focused real estate funds for about US$500 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. Making a major push into the battered US commercial real estate market, the deal would follow commitments that CIC has made to invest US$1 billion in funds managed by Brookfield Asset Management, and US$1 billion to Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers. The deals reflect CIC’s push to deploy its capital after mostly remaining on the sidelines amid the global downturn. Harvard’s real estate portfolio had a loss of more than 50% in the year that ended June 2009. The US$26 billion Harvard endowment, the largest of any major US college, has been seeking to trim its US$5.4 billion portfolio, as it endeavors to reduce exposure to illiquid assets like real estate.