![\"CalPERS](\"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/2026-10-26-calpers-hero.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
HedgeCo.Net \u2014 The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the largest U.S. public pension fund, is exploring a possible return to hedge fund investing through separately managed accounts, 12 years after its high-profile exit from the industry, Pensions & Investments reported, citing correspondence obtained through a public records request. No decision has been made.<\/p>\n
According to the report, the $653.8 billion pension fund has held discussions with Goldman Sachs and Dockside Platforms about gaining hedge fund exposure through SMAs. Emails exchanged earlier this year show CalPERS assessing the structure as a way to access diversifying strategies. In May, Goldman highlighted the uncorrelated performance of hedge fund managers as a potential rationale for renewed allocations, while Dockside Platforms contacted the pension in February about its exploration of the SMA market. June Kim, CalPERS’ deputy chief investment officer for capital markets, is reportedly leading the review.<\/p>\n
The context is a very different CalPERS from the one that walked away. In 2014 the fund liquidated its investments across 24 hedge funds and six funds of hedge funds to reduce portfolio complexity and cost, a move that became one of the most cited institutional withdrawals from the asset class. Stephen Gilmore became chief investment officer in 2024, and the fund adopted a total portfolio approach in July 2026 that integrates investment management and risk allocation across asset classes. A spokesperson said CalPERS regularly evaluates opportunities to strengthen diversification and resilience while meeting its target return.<\/p>\n
The SMA route matters as much as the headline. Separately managed accounts give an allocator position-level transparency, control over terms and liquidity, and the ability to size and cut exposures without negotiating fund-level side letters. Those features answer many of the objections large public plans raised a decade ago about fees, opacity and complexity, and they fit naturally into a total portfolio framework that judges each sleeve by its contribution to overall risk.<\/p>\n
For hedge fund managers, even an exploratory review at CalPERS is a signal. The industry has been drawing record capital, with HFR putting total assets at about $5.64 trillion at the end of the third quarter, and large pensions that once led the retreat are now testing how to come back on their own terms. Whether CalPERS commits, and how much, will be watched closely by other public plans that followed its lead out in 2014.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HedgeCo.Net \u2014 The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the largest U.S. public pension fund, is exploring a possible return to hedge fund investing through separately ma\u2026 Continue reading