Aaron Brown, Columnist

Calpers Is Discarding the Familiar Pension Fund Playbook

California's influential manager of $556 billion in retirement money might cause the restructuring of the entire institutional asset management sector.

September 25, 2025 at 9:00 AM UTC

By Aaron Brown

Aaron Brown is a former head of financial market research at AQR Capital Management. He is also an active crypto investor, and has venture capital investments and advisory ties with crypto firms.

A change in direction.
Photographer: Max Whittaker/Getty Images North America

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The $556 billion California Public Employees’ Retirement System is the largest public pension fund in the US and the hardest to manage as evidenced by how frequently it changes chief investment officers. Its 13-member board includes seven appointees of the state government, some of whom have been known to express strong opinions in public.

In Spring 2022, the board hired Nicole Musicco to convert Calpers to a Canadian-style pension portfolio and boost returns. She exited in less than two years. In Spring 2024, it turned to Stephen Gilmore to replicate his success at New Zealand’s sovereign wealth fund. This month, he formally recommended Calpers adopt the total portfolio approach, popular with sovereign funds including Australia’s Future Fund, where Gilmore was previously chief investment strategist.