Rest commits $250m to US retail property fund

Binaya Dahal

Journalist

19 March 2026

Australian superannuation fund, Rest has committed to invest US$250 million in Nuveen Real Estate’s US Cities Retail Fund (USCRF), making it the primary backer in the fund’s latest US$330 million capital raise.

Launched in 2018, USCRF targets necessity-based neighbourhood retail properties anchored by grocery and daily-needs tenants. It currently holds 10 retail properties in cities such as Austin, Philadelphia and San Diego, and has recently secured further five shopping strips.

Rest’s Head of Real Assets – Investments, Andrew Bambrook, said the commitment will provide reliable, risk-adjusted returns across market cycles for Rest’s more than two million members.

“These shopping centres are anchored by major US grocers and supermarkets, including brands like The Fresh Market, Harris Teeter and Trader Joe’s, alongside convenience retailers that meet people’s everyday needs,” Bambrook said.

“USCRF prioritises areas with large numbers of younger families, who are forming households and seeing their day-to-day household needs grow, and targets locations where they are most likely to shop for everyday needs for many years to come.

“Retail precincts that focus on consumer essentials and necessities can offer resilient, stable income streams that support long‑term returns.”

He added that the investment will also enhance diversification within Rest’s property portfolio and aims to support the stability of whole-of-fund returns over time.

“Rest has a deep heritage with the retail industry in Australia, and our property portfolio has exposure to a number of large shopping centres around the country,” Bambrook said.

“This commitment helps ‘diversify our diversifiers’ by spreading our exposure across different retail property types, categories and geographies.”

Bambrook further said the funding is well positioned to benefit from long-term demographic shifts, as the majority of the fund’s members approach retirement while millennials enter their peak household formation and spending years.