CalPERS Launches Fund for Real Estate Investments

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System has started a $500-million fund to invest in real estate, real estate services and infrastructure related to computer and communication companies.

The largest public employee pension fund, with about $174 billion in assets, plans to ally with and invest in telecommunications firms, online commercial property listing services and energy management companies. It also wants to invest in real estate in and around Northern California’s Silicon Valley, Boston’s Route 128 and the Research Triangle of Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

“Technology is changing the face of commercial real estate in markets across the United States,” CalPERS Investment Committee Chairman Michael Flaherman said in a statement.

CalPERS already has a real estate portfolio worth $8.3 billion. Last week it voted to put more money into real estate as well as private equity, and cut its stock holdings. It’s boosting its real estate target to 8% of holdings from 6%.

In 1999, CalPERS invested in PropertyFirst.com, an Alhambra online real estate listing service for commercial and residential real estate.