Key Takeaways
- • Kansas PERS has engaged Chicago Pacific Founders (CPF), a healthcare-focused investment firm with nearly $3 billion in assets under management, to deploy capital into U.S. healthcare real estate with a focus on senior housing facilities and medical office buildings.
- • Chicago Pacific Founders operates as a differentiated healthcare investment platform with the capacity to deploy up to $75 million of equity capital per opportunity and uniquely owns its own specialized property management company.
- • The firm ranks as the 30th largest healthcare real estate operator in the U.S. and has demonstrated institutional backing, with existing investors including the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), which has committed $58 million in aggregate capital, and Berkeley County Employees' Retirement System (BCERS), which committed $10 million to CPF Fund IV.
- • CPF's healthcare real estate strategy extends beyond acquisitions to operational transformation, leveraging both investment expertise and proprietary property management capabilities to enhance portfolio performance.
- • The mandate aligns with broader institutional investor appetite for healthcare real estate, a defensive asset class benefiting from demographic tailwinds in senior care and stable cash flow profiles in medical office properties.
Summary
Kansas PERS has appointed Chicago Pacific Founders to manage healthcare real estate investments targeting senior housing facilities and medical office buildings across the United States. The engagement underscores institutional pension funds' growing allocation to healthcare real estate as a diversified alternative investment with secular demographic support.
Chicago Pacific Founders operates as a specialized healthcare investment platform with approximately $3 billion in assets under management. The firm distinguishes itself through dual operational and investment capabilities, uniquely owning and managing its own property management company rather than outsourcing operations to third-party managers. This structural advantage allows CPF to maintain operational control and capture management-fee economics while optimizing asset performance across its portfolio. The firm has demonstrated capacity to deploy up to $75 million of equity capital per investment opportunity, providing meaningful scale while maintaining selectivity in deployment decisions.
CPF's market position reflects established credibility within the institutional investor ecosystem. The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) has committed $58 million in aggregate capital to the platform, while the Berkeley County Employees' Retirement System (BCERS) committed $10 million to CPF Fund IV, which launched in January 2025 and focuses on healthcare buyouts. The firm ranks as the 30th largest healthcare real estate operator in the U.S., positioning it within a concentrated peer group of established operators. CPF's investment track record includes significant portfolio transactions—the firm announced the sale of a senior housing portfolio comprising 20 communities to Ventas, demonstrating active portfolio management and exit execution capabilities.
The Kansas PERS mandate reflects the institutional preference for healthcare real estate as an alternative asset class offering inflation-hedged cash flows, demographic-driven demand growth, and operational value-creation opportunities. Senior housing and medical office properties have maintained relative resilience through economic cycles, supported by aging U.S. demographics and stable utilization demand. By partnering with a specialized operator, Kansas PERS gains access to proprietary deal sourcing, operational expertise, and property management infrastructure without building internal healthcare real estate capabilities.
Chicago Pacific Founders operates as a specialized healthcare investment platform with approximately $3 billion in assets under management. The firm distinguishes itself through dual operational and investment capabilities, uniquely owning and managing its own property management company rather than outsourcing operations to third-party managers. This structural advantage allows CPF to maintain operational control and capture management-fee economics while optimizing asset performance across its portfolio. The firm has demonstrated capacity to deploy up to $75 million of equity capital per investment opportunity, providing meaningful scale while maintaining selectivity in deployment decisions.
CPF's market position reflects established credibility within the institutional investor ecosystem. The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) has committed $58 million in aggregate capital to the platform, while the Berkeley County Employees' Retirement System (BCERS) committed $10 million to CPF Fund IV, which launched in January 2025 and focuses on healthcare buyouts. The firm ranks as the 30th largest healthcare real estate operator in the U.S., positioning it within a concentrated peer group of established operators. CPF's investment track record includes significant portfolio transactions—the firm announced the sale of a senior housing portfolio comprising 20 communities to Ventas, demonstrating active portfolio management and exit execution capabilities.
The Kansas PERS mandate reflects the institutional preference for healthcare real estate as an alternative asset class offering inflation-hedged cash flows, demographic-driven demand growth, and operational value-creation opportunities. Senior housing and medical office properties have maintained relative resilience through economic cycles, supported by aging U.S. demographics and stable utilization demand. By partnering with a specialized operator, Kansas PERS gains access to proprietary deal sourcing, operational expertise, and property management infrastructure without building internal healthcare real estate capabilities.
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