Calpers Endorses Private Equity Push, With $20 Billion Plan (1)

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System endorsed plans to pursue two new strategies to expand the largest U.S. pension system’s private equity portfolio.

“We expect these new vehicles to improve our ability to deploy assets in private equity so we can invest more in private equity,” Chief Investment Officer Ben Meng said at Monday’s meeting in Sacramento before the 10-to-3 vote. “It may or may not work now. We will not know if we don’t try. And in this challenging capital-market environment, we owe it to all our stakeholders to explore all the options available.”

Under the plan, Calpers would ...