CalPERS aligns performance pay with new allocation strategy

CalPERS is set to change its benchmarks for measuring performance compensation for senior investment staff so they are consistent with recent changes to its strategic asset allocation.Earlier in the year CalPERS introduced a range of new benchmarks, including composite benchmarks for the new asset classes. The proposed performance plan will align with these benchmark changes.

The restructure of asset classes resulted in assets being classified in five main groupings: growth, income, inflation, real assets and liquidity.

Some of the key performance changes reflect CalPERS’ economic outlook for likely returns in the coming year, with infrastructure performance benchmark changed from CPI plus 5 per cent to CPI.

AIM (private equity) moved to a global public markets-based benchmark to better align with global equity and total fund policy benchmark.

In forestland the benchmark for measuring performance was changed to NCREIF Timberland.

Performance plans will also take into account both quantitative and qualitative measures.

Sponsored Content

Chief investment officer, Joe Dear (pictured), will have 70 per cent of his performance compensation in quantitative measures, calculated on a sliding scale of performance above a series of basis points hurdles for the total fund.

Of his performance remuneration, 20 per cent will depend on qualitative factors such as leadership, succession planning, risk management and teamwork.

The remaining 10 per cent will be decided by performance in enterprise-wide initiatives during the fiscal year.

The board will review the new performance measures at its May 17 meeting.  A second board level review is set for June to further refine certain benchmarks and incentive schedules.

Leave a Comment

Sort content by

Academics and industry unite

The gargantuan impact of systemic risk in global financial markets has been corroborated by a consortium of industry and academics collaborating to provide independent quantitative research, insight and leadership on systemic risk. Driven by director of MIT’s Laboratory for Financial Engineering,  Andrew Lo, senior managing director at State Street Global Markets, Jessica Donohue, and managing

Rethink remuneration

Institutional investors around the world have been lobbying for the right to have a say on pay, a right to have an input into the remuneration of the executives in the companies they invest in. In June the UK’s business secretary, Vince Cable, laid out new plans that will give shareholders three-yearly votes on executive

Endowments fall
from grace

US college and university endowments have gone from pioneers in the adoption of socially responsible investing (SRI) to markedly trailing the rest of the investment industry in integrating environmental social and corporate governance (ESG), new research reveals. The Boston-based Tellus Institute, an independent not-for-profit think-tank, looked at 464 endowments and was damning in its findings,

Kay Review recommendations tackle short-termism

Co-head of responsible investment at the £32 billion Universities Superannuation Scheme, David Russell, says asset manager engagement with companies should move away from its “almost myopic focus on remuneration” to other issues that impact value and strategy. His comments come on the back of the final report of the Kay Review of the UK equity

POLL: Which strategy within emerging markets debt do you find the most compelling?

mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

CalPERS: “opaquely transparent”

A Columbia Business School case study on CalPERS has criticised the fund for being “opaquely transparent”, with a computation of investment expenses revealing the fund pays three-to-four times its peers in fees. Written by Columbia professor of business Andrew Ang and Columbia CaseWorks fellow, Jeremy Abrams, Californian dreamin’: The mess at CalPERS examines the political,

Previous