CalPERS Assets Drop 8% in Its Fiscal Year

CalPERS, the largest U.S. public pension fund, said its assets fell 8% over the last year, dipping to their lowest level since 1998, but real estate holdings softened the bear market’s blow.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System said its assets fell to $143 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30. Tumbling stocks dragged CalPERS’ total assets down from $156 billion last year.

The market’s sharp fall has brought the pension fund’s assets down to their June 1998 level of $143 billion from a peak of $172 billion two years earlier.

CalPERS said its investments in U.S. stocks lost 16.8% in its fiscal year, but beat their benchmark, the Wilshire 2500 index, which fell 17.4% in that period.

Private equity holdings declined 7.8%, but real estate investments in the pension fund rose 11.8%.