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CalPERS

Pension fund · Founded 1932 · Sacramento, United States

#1 LP Ranking #1 of 1,316 pension funds

Retirement and health security for state, school, and public agency members who invest their lifework in public service

Website ↗LinkedIn ↗X / Twitter ↗
576 VC firms backed
$502B AUM
~$15B Allocated to VC (est. 3%)
01 · Background

Who CalPERS is.

Historical Background
The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) was established in 1932, originally named the State Employees' Retirement System (SERS). In 1939, the system expanded its mandate to include employees from participating counties, cities, and school districts. The organization officially changed its name to CalPERS in 1992 to better reflect its broader membership.
Source of Capital
CalPERS manages the retirement and health benefits for more than 2 million public employees, retirees, and their families in California. As the largest public pension fund in the United States, its capital is derived from contributions made by these members and their employers, as well as from investment returns.
Major Events
In 2014, the fund's total market value exceeded $300 billion for the first time. The board adopted a formal set of "Investment Beliefs" in 2013 to provide a guiding framework for its investment strategy.
Allocation Strategy
The fund invests across a diversified range of asset classes, including public equity, fixed income, real assets, private equity, and private debt. CalPERS reviews its strategic asset allocation mix in a formal process every four years, with interim adjustments made as needed to manage risk and liquidity. As part of a recent strategic shift, the allocation to private equity was increased from 8% to 13%, and a new 5% allocation was created for private debt, reflecting a greater focus on private market investments.
Sources
02 · Fund commitments

The funds CalPERS backs.

CalPERS is a limited partner in 576 funds. 68 of them place in the Power Law Investor Ranking; those lead, best-ranked first.

Sequoia Capital
United States
#2 Power Law
Andreessen Horowitz
United States
#5 Power Law
Lightspeed Venture Partners
United States
#7 Power Law
New Enterprise Associates
United States
#8 Power Law
Index Ventures
United Kingdom
#11 Power Law
Khosla Ventures
United States
#12 Power Law
General Catalyst
United States
#13 Power Law
Tiger Global Management
United States
#14 Power Law
Bessemer Venture Partners
United States
#17 Power Law
Insight Partners
United States
#23 Power Law
Thrive Capital
United States
#34 Power Law
Redpoint
United States
#42 Power Law
03 · Allocation

How CalPERS’s fund book is spread.

The 576 funds CalPERS backs, by where the manager is headquartered and how many funds that manager has raised.

Where those managers are based

By fund headquarters, across the 568 of 576 with a location on record.

  • North America 43977%
  • Europe 7213%
  • Rest of world 5710%

United States 428 · United Kingdom 38 · China 12 · Canada 11

How established those managers are

Managers grouped by how many funds they have raised — across the 303 of 576 with a fund history on record.

Emerging funds · 118
Established funds · 185
51 1
32 2
35 3
28 4
47 5-6
50 7-9
31 10-14
29 15+
Funds raised by the manager
04 · Knowledge graph
News Base10 Partners closes $850M across two funds, hits $2.6B in assets Jun 11, 2026
05 · Direct investments

The companies CalPERS backs directly.

CalPERS holds 5 companies directly, separate from the funds it commits to as a limited partner.

Zepto
Food · India
$400M valuation
Thomas Weisel Partners
Fintech · USA
$400M valuation
Amphora Discovery
Health · USA
InvestorForce
Enterprise Software · USA
$208M valuation
Inox Clean Energy
Energy · India
06 · Other LPs

Other LPs.

Other pension funds in the Power Law LP ranking, closest to CalPERS by combined power-law score — North America first, then the nearest worldwide.

HP Incorporated Master Trust
LP rank #7 · United States
$13B AUM 58 VC funds backed
UTIMCO
LP rank #8 · United States
$66B AUM 140 VC funds backed
MIT Basic Retirement Plan
LP rank #11 · United States
$3.0B AUM 60 VC funds backed
SBC Master Pension Trust
LP rank #13 · United States
$58B AUM 92 VC funds backed
Retirement Plan of Duke University
LP rank #16 · United States
$8.5B AUM 71 VC funds backed
Liberty Mutual Retirement Benefit Plan
LP rank #18 · United States
$100B AUM 59 VC funds backed
University of California Board of Regents
LP rank #19 · United States
$152B AUM 69 VC funds backed
Operating Engineers Trust Fund of Washington D.C. and Vicinity
LP rank #20 · United States
$1.5B AUM 52 VC funds backed