CalPERS whittles private holdings

The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has sold about $1 billion of its private equity stakes since launching a reorganization of its private equity portfolio last year. The announcement accompanied preliminary data for the fiscal year ended June 30 showing that private equity's performance was up 5.4%. However, CalPERS returned just 1% overall for the fiscal year. Public equity was off 7.2%, driven by poor performance in international markets, particularly in developing nations.

The secondary sale led to the termination of 23 undisclosed private equity fund relationships. CalPERS is exploring additional secondary sales. At March 31, CalPERS had $33.4 billion in private equity investments. ...