A correction to this article was issued on October 27.

QIC alternative investments, which is seeking to build a portfolio that behaves differently from stocks and bonds, is seeking an annual net return of 4.5 per cent plus the consumer price index over five years.*QIC’s Beta Fund has delivered a net return of 5.1 per cent between its inception in December last year and September this year, says James Dick, head of alternative investments at QIC. It is managing about $150 million and has commitments of $220 million.

Dick says the fund has invested in listed infrastructure and commodities. It has invested in managers who invest for  Stanford and Duke Universities endowment funds.* It has bought insurance-linked assets including catastrophe bonds and alternative fixed interest products.

The fund is examining whether to invest in other securities.

A minimum investment in QIC’s Beta Fund is $10 million, says Dick.* QIC manages $57.8 billion, with more than half of the fund Queensland State Government money.

* The article has been corrected to state that QIC’s fund is seeking a CPI plus 4.5 per cent annual return; to state that the fund invests in endowment managers who invest for Stanford and Duke Universities endowment funds; and that the minimum investment in the fund is $10 million.