CDPQ, Nuveen Launch Sustainable Commercial Real Estate Financing Joint Venture

The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec announced Monday that the $332 billion Quebec pension will partner with Nuveen Green Capital to launch a C$830 million ($600 million) financing program for sustainable commercial real estate development across the U.S.

Specifically, the program will offer Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy financing, as well as senior bridge and construction financing for sustainable real estate developments.

Since 2014, C-PACE, a U.S.-focused financing mechanism, has allowed building owners to make energy efficiency improvements by using financing to pay for upfront costs, which are then repaid through an assessment on the properties’ tax bill. The structure of C-PACE allows for long-term financing and makes transferability of repayment obligations to new owners easy.

“Developing greener buildings and reducing the carbon footprint of our built environment can create significant value,” said Marc Cormier, executive vice president and head of fixed income at CDPQ, in a statement. “Through this distinctive financing program, we are able to accelerate the implementation of environmentally sound measures for commercial real estate owners and developers.”

Want the latest institutional investment industry news and insights? Sign up for CIO newsletters. 

CDPQ had approximately $320 billion in assets under management as of December 2023.

Nuveen is one of the largest providers of C-PACE financing in the U.S. According to a statement, the firm had provided 41% of the total C-PACE originations volume in 2023. While it is not a federal program, roughly 40 states have legislation which permits the use of C-PACE financing.

Nuveen, a wholly owned subsidiary of TIAA, will act as the primary sourcing agent for the financing program with CDPQ, according to a statement.

“This program represents another exciting milestone for the C‑PACE industry and Nuveen Green Capital,” said Jessica Bailey, president and CEO of Nuveen Green Capital. “We are thrilled to be working with CDPQ to build this one-stop shop for bridge and construction loans to meet the growing need for commercial real estate financing.”

C-PACE has been used for more than 3,300 commercial real estate projects since 2012, according to nonprofit industry group PACENation.

CDPQ to Build Forestland Portfolio in US Pacific Northwest 

CDPQ, FTQ Invest $424M in Québec Energy Provider

Tags: CDPQ, commercial real estate, Jessica Bailey, Marc Cormier, Nuveen, Nuveen Green Capital

Brown University announced on Friday that the university’s endowment achieved an 11.3% return in fiscal 2024, the one-year period that ended June 30. Assets of the fund grew to $7.2 billion from $6.6 billion, a combination of $728 million in investment gains and $203 million in gifts during the fiscal year. The fund contributed approximately $281 million to the university’s operating budget.

The fund announced annualized three-, five-, 10- and 20-year returns of 2.8%, 13.1%, 10.8% and 9.5%, respectively.

“It is a privilege to report once again that the market value of Brown’s endowment stands at a new all-time high, as does the level of support it provides for the University’s mission,” said Brown CIO Jane Dietze in a statement. “Our investment performance this year and across the last two decades is a testament to steady guidance from our investment committee, supportive alumni, an exceptional group of external investment managers and a dedicated team in the Investment Office.”

Brown, so far the third Ivy League university to release its investment returns for fiscal 2024, followed a trend among its peers: stronger performance relative to the prior fiscal year, in which most endowments had published single-digit, or even negative, returns during a year in which the public markets boomed. For fiscal 2024, the endowments of peers Columbia University and Dartmouth College returned 11.5% and 8.4%, respectively.

For more stories like this, sign up for the CIO Alert newsletter. 

Brown achieved a 2.7% return in fiscal 2023 (fourth among the eight Ivy League institutions), and a negative 4.6% return in fiscal 2022 (seventh). As at its peers, the university’s endowment is heavily allocated to private markets; according to the fund’s fiscal 2023 report, 40% of the portfolio was allocated to private equity, 21% to absolute return strategies, 15% to equities and 7% each to fixed income and cash.