SECURITIES

CalPERS Expands Activism, Sets Funds for State Firms: The California Public Employees Retirement System, the nation’s biggest pension fund with $88 billion in assets, said it plans to expand its shareholder activism beyond Fortune 500 companies to include smaller firms and foreign entities in which it has investments. Sacramento-based CalPERS, citing the strong stock and bond markets this year, also said it earned a 16.4% return on investment for its fiscal year ended June 30, compared to a 2.5% return the previous year. CalPERS said it committed $45 million to two new private funds planning to invest a total of $105 million in small California companies. The funds are being managed by Kline Hawkes California, a Los Angeles-based investment partnership.