REAL ESTATE – Mike McCook, senior real estate investment officer at the $183bn (euro) California Public Employees’ Retirement Scheme, is to retire.

An official at the Sacramento-based fund told Âé¶¹Ó³»­ Real Estate that McCook is to retire from State service.

Earlier this month McCook was in the news, when he disclosed the fund was looking to invest up to $400m in Chinese housing over the next few years.

In the meantime, the fund has announced almost $200m in real estate purchases, in Washington State and Texas.

It invested $109.8m in the 41-acre, WestPark office-warehouse complex in Redmond east of Seattle. This is 70% leased, with 80 tenants.

And it has also bought Estates at Cougar Mountain for $46.3m.

The fund also purchased an office property in Houston’s central business district for $41.7m.