MONTREAL AND NEW YORK CITY — The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), a pension fund investor based in Montreal, and Nuveen Real Estate, one of the largest investment managers in the world, have launched a joint venture with an initial investment of $790 million to acquire open-air shopping centers across the United States. To date, PSP and Nuveen have closed on 3 million square feet across 19 assets in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Texas, Virginia and Washington. The investment strategy is demographically driven, focusing on open-air shopping centers anchored by market or category dominant grocers, necessity-based retailers and essential services that demonstrate “durable performance and resilient foot traffic,” according to the press release. In particular, the joint venture targets U.S. metro areas with strong population growth, rising household incomes and high barriers to entry, where well-capitalized retailers are actively seeking to expand. “Necessity-based retail has demonstrated remarkable resilience through various cycles, underpinned by consistent consumer demand for essential goods and services,” says Brian Wallick, portfolio manager of U.S. cities retail strategy at Nuveen Real Estate. “We’re confident this combination of scale, relationships and local execution positions us strongly in one of the most stable and defensive segments …
