CalPERS · California Public Employees' Retirement System · $637B
CalPERS is taking 40% of its money private
CalPERS, the largest US public pension, just posted a 14.8% return for the year to June 2026, lifting it to $637 billion and 85% funded. The bigger story for allocators is structural: in 2024 it voted to raise private markets from a third of the fund to 40%, a roughly $34 billion shift out of public stocks into private equity and private debt. This year those private books returned 17% and 11%.
Key numbers, and what they mean
14.8%
CalPERS's return for the year to June 2026 (preliminary, net), one of its best in a decade. Public equity did most of the work at 24%.
40%
Its new target for private markets (private equity, private debt, real assets), up from a third. A roughly $34B shift out of public stocks, decided in 2024.
17%
Its private-equity return for the year, extending the gains since the shift. Private debt added 11%.
85%
Funded status, up from 79% a year earlier. A strong year narrows the gap between assets and the pensions it has promised.
Asset mix (mid-2025)
Public equity (global)39%
Fixed income30%
Private equity18%
Real assets13%
The read-through
From the report
Takeaway: how to apply it to a portfolio
CalPERS voted to raise private markets from 33% to 40%, moving about $34B out of public stocks into private equity and private debt.
Adding private markets trades liquidity and fees for higher expected return and smaller mark-to-market swings. Size it to cash you will not need for years, not to a target you copied.
It funds the portfolio partly with about 5% leverage, and holds real assets and private debt for income.
Leverage and illiquidity amplify both the return and the risk. If you use either, know exactly how it behaves in a down year before you lean on it.
Its public-equity sleeve returned 24% this year and did most of the work, even as the fund tilts private.
Private markets are a long-horizon bet; public stocks still drive returns in any given year. Do not starve the liquid engine that pays this year's bills.
The Argus lensCalPERS marks a huge private book and re-underwrites every manager. Whether a private-equity or private-credit fund clears its cost and beats a public benchmark, after fees and leverage, is the question on any commitment you weigh. That read is what we do for you.
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About the source
CalPERS's fiscal 2025-26 results, announced July 2026, cover the year ended June 30, 2026: the 14.8% preliminary return, $637B value, and 85% funded status. The move to a 40% private-markets target was approved by the board in March 2024.