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Newsmakers

Dhillon Nominated to Lead PBGC

The former Equal Employment Opportunity Commission chair under President Donald Trump is now expected to lead the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
By Remy Samuels

Janet Dhillon

President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Janet Dhillon, formerly the chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, to serve as director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

If approved by the Senate, Dhillon would serve as head of the PBGC for a term of five years.

Trump previously nominated Dhillon as chair of the EEOC in May 2019. She served as chair until January 20, 2021, and served on the commission until she resigned in November 2022.

During Dhillon’s tenure as chair, the EEOC secured more than $535 million in recovery for victims of workplace discrimination. In addition, under her leadership, the agency provided educational information to the public in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to address its intersection with federal employment discrimination laws, according to the EEOC.

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Before joining the EEOC, Dhillon serviced as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate security of Burlington Stores Inc. She also served as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate security of J.C. Penney Co., Inc.

Dhillon earned a B.A. from Occidental College and a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law.

Ann Orr, selected by former President Joe Biden, has been serving as acting director of the PBGC since May 2024. Her predecessor, Gordon Hartogensis, departed when his five-year term expired on April 30, 2024.

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Home > News > Asset Allocation > CalSTRS Achieves 7.7% Return in 2024, Assets Reach $349.7B
Asset Allocation

CalSTRS Achieves 7.7% Return in 2024, Assets Reach $349.7B

Returns for the California State Teachers’ Retirement System were boosted by equities.
By Matt Toledo


The California State Teachers’ Retirement System reported a 7.7% return in 2024, according to public meeting materials for the fund’s March 12 board meeting. Assets of the California pension reached $349.7 billion at the end of the year and had reached $352.9 billion at the end of January. 

As of December 31, 2024, the fund allocates 40.5% of its portfolio to public equities, 15.4% to private equity, 13.2% to real estate, 12% to fixed income, 8% to risk mitigating strategies, 6.6% to inflation sensitive assets, 2.6% to cash, 1.8% to collaborative strategies and 0.1% to strategic overlay.  

Overall, the fund outperformed its policy benchmark of 7% by 70 basis points. Equities were the fund’s highest-performing asset class, returning 16.9%. Collaborative strategies returned 11.1%, followed by private equity (8.9%), inflation-sensitive assets (8.4%), risk-mitigating assets (2.0%) and fixed income (1.8%). Real estate, the fund’s only asset class with a loss for the year, returned negative 9.7%.  

Over the past three, five, 10 and 30 years, the fund has posted annualized returns of 3.1%, 7.7%, 7.8% and 8.1%, respectively. CalSTRS’ goal, according to board meeting documents, is to achieve an average 7% annualized return over the next 30 years. 

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In documents from the pension fund’s investment consultant Meketa, the consultant noted a handful of big risks, tied to the new administration’s fiscal policy initiatives, including tariffs, immigration policy, regulation and tax cuts.  

“A meaningful portion of the return generated by U.S. equities since 2019 came from multiple expansion, which is unsustainable in the long term,” board documents noted. “Consequently, valuations have again reached extreme levels relative to market history.”  

While equities make up 40.5% of CalSTRS portfolio, the asset class accounts for 54.2% of the fund’s portfolio risk. The fund’s biggest sector portfolio exposure is information technology, making up 25% of the public equity portfolio. The largest equity holdings include Apple (4.4%), Nvidia (3.8%), Microsoft (3.5%) and Amazon (2.4%). 

CalSTRS manages the investments and retirement benefits for more than 1 million members and beneficiaries, primarily public school educators in California.  

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