Benchmark Financial Services examines CalPERS’ governance, transparency, fees, and long term investment results, arguing that growing complexity has not translated into better outcomes. The paper contends that a fund managing $556.2 billion may have sacrificed performance for opaque alternatives, while underperformance and oversight concerns have compounded over time.
CalPERS: America’s Misled and Misleading Pension Leader
Benchmark Financial Services
Edward Siedle, Chris Tobe
Research
255 Pages
Key Takeaways
Performance Gap Costs: CalPERS trailed a simple 70/30 global equity and bond portfolio by roughly 100 to 150 basis points annually, implying more than $100 billion of cumulative opportunity cost.
Funding Pressure Rising: The funded ratio fell from over 100% in 2006 to about 79%, while the unfunded actuarial liability reached approximately $168 billion in 2024.
Alternatives Under Scrutiny: CalPERS ranked 48th of 50 large public plans over 10 years, with private equity, private credit, and real estate identified as major drivers of higher costs and weaker results.
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