The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) paid $3.4 billion in performance fees to private equity managers over the last 25 years, the pension’s latest data has revealed.
CalPERS has achieved net gains of $24.2 billion since the private equity program’s inception in 1990, the data showed, which brought total private equity earnings (including the original value of the investments) to $53.5 billion.
“Private equity has the highest net returns in our portfolio.”The largest pension fund in the US also revealed it earned $4.1 billion in profits from private equity while paying out $700 million in carried interest for the 2015 fiscal year.
CalPERS has been criticized in the media for failing to disclose carried interest, but CIO Ted Eliopoulos defended the private equity program and said the pension had been “rewarded appropriately” for the risks it took.
“Private equity has the highest net returns in our portfolio,” he said. “As a long-term investor, it is an important piece of our investment strategy and our mission.”
The much-discussed asset class also outperformed the $295 billion fund’s target return of 7.5%, CalPERS said, gaining 14.4%, 11.9%, and 12.3% for the 5-, 10-, and 20-year periods ending June 30, 2015.
“Our returns and profit sharing numbers indicate that we are prudently selecting our investment partners, and that they are skilled at managing CalPERS’ investment,” said Réal Desrochers, the managing investment director for private equity.
The data was made public after CalPERS intriduced a new accounting tool for its private equity program, known as the private equity accounting and reporting solution (PEARS).
“The launch of the PEARS system and release of these numbers is a significant step for CalPERS,” said Henry Jones, chair of the pension’s investment committee. “Private equity is a complicated asset class and the board and investment office staff will now have even more insight into our program.”
On a conference call Tuesday, Eliopoulos said 98% of its active general partners (GP) complied with CalPERS’ requests for information.
“There are still issues the private equity industry needs to address. CalPERS will continue work with LPs to standardize reporting and advocate to regulators.”“Going forward, with this extremely high compliance rate, we will not do business with firms that refuse to provide this information to us,” he said. “For new fund commitments, we are requesting and requiring GPs to provide information on fees, costs, and carried interest.”
Eliopoulos continued that today’s fee disclosures will be meaningful to the public and the marketplace.
“There are still issues the private equity industry needs to address,” he said. “CalPERS will continue work with limited partners to standardize reporting and advocate to regulators.”
CalPERS currently has about 10% of its total portfolio, or $28.9 billion, invested in private equity.
Related: Limited Partners Swell Ranks as PE Battle Intensifies & Start Soul Searching, CalPERS CIO Tells Private Equity