The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has been honored for promoting diversity in the securities industry.
At its recent Pension and Financial Services Conference in Los Angeles, the National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP) presented CalPERS with the 2011 Pacesetter Award for its longstanding efforts to develop innovative investment programs designed to increase the participation of women and minorities in the financial industry. NASP is a non-profit association of women and minority brokers, asset managers, public finance consultants, bankers, investors and other finance professionals.
“CalPERS has been a leader and a strong proponent of diversity throughout the years, and that philosophy is embedded in everything we do,” said Joe Dear, CalPERS Chief Investment Officer. “That’s why the Pacesetter Award means so much to us. Finding new and emerging money managers whose skills can help us achieve the kind of returns we’re after helps us maintain our competitive edge. On behalf of all of us at CalPERS, I want to thank NASP for this honor.”
CalPERS investment programs promoting diversity include:
-
The Manager Development Program, which provides capital to promising public equity firms in exchange for equity stakes;
-
Two fund of funds programs for public equity investment managers and hedge funds that invest primarily in women-owned firms;
-
The California Initiative and Capital Link programs, which invest in California’s underserved areas and in private equity emerging managers;
-
Real estate funds managed by firms with minority or women ownership;
-
A stock-trading framework that helps identify minority, women and disabled veteran brokers often overlooked in a crowded field of brokers.
A recent webinar hosted by members of the pension fund’s staff, “Introducing Emerging Managers to CalPERS Investments,” can be found at www.calpers.ca.gov.
CalPERS is the nation’s largest public pension fund with approximately $226 billion in assets. It provides retirement benefits to more than 1.6 million State, public school, and local public agency employees, retirees, and their families, and health benefits to nearly 1.3 million members. The average CalPERS pension is $2,220 per month. For more information about CalPERS, visit www.calpers.ca.gov or www.CalPERSResponds.com.