FUN FACTS

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FUN FACTS

History

Created in 1932 to provide retirement benefits to state employees, Calpers now manages the pension savings of 1.4 million public employees, retirees and their families. The fund serves three main constituencies: state employees, 2,400 public agencies, and school districts that include the Cal State University system. Holdings totaled more than $166 billion at the end of February, after peaking during the Internet bubble at $172 billion. Calpers has between a 1.2 percent and 1.5 percent stake in each of more than 2,500 U.S. companies listed in the Wilshire 2000.

How Big?

Processed $7 billion in retirement, death and survivor benefits to its members last year, including 45,529 requests for direct deposit of retirement checks.

Major Holdings

Perhaps the biggest individual investor in California-based assets, with $19.1 billion, or 11.5 percent of its total fund, invested in-state as of Jan. 31, 2004.

Minding the Money

Hires 44 external money management firms to run stock and bond funds for the nearly 30 percent of its portfolio not tied to internally managed index funds. The pension fund has 300 active fund investments.

Worker Bees

Employs 1,600 people at its headquarters in Sacramento. Another 50 employees are scattered in eight regional offices throughout the state, including San Francisco, Glendale, San Bernardino and Fresno. The investment staff totals about 180.

Best Performing Assets

California real estate, with average 20.23 percent annual returns since Calpers began investing in the sector a decade ago.

Worst Performing Assets

Alternative investments in private equity, venture capital and hedge funds posted negative 10.6 percent for the year ended June 2003.

Best Single Investment

Microsoft Corp. As of June 30, 2003, shares of the software giant had racked up $838.6 million in paper profits on an investment of $381.8 million.

Worst Single Investment

Bankrupt telecom provider Worldcom Inc. ate up more than $104 million.

Smallest Holding

Digital Lighthouse Corp. ($231 for 700 shares purchased at a price of 33 cents each). The entire investment is now worth a grand total of 7 cents.

Fees

Traded 54.2 billion shares in fiscal 2003 through thousands of brokerage firms, generating $70.7 million in commissions and fees. S.G. Warburg Securities, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and its unit Salomon Brothers International executed the most trades.

Largest Stock Holding

General Electric Co., with 38 million shares valued at $1.09 billion as of June 2003. (As of mid-April, GE remained Calpers’ top holding, despite a gain of only 8.1 percent between June and last week). Pfizer Inc. has moved up to No. 2 on the list, replacing Microsoft.

Other Expenses

Hundreds of professional consultants for everything from retooling its Web site to staff training to video production. Calpers spent $58.7 million on consulting and professional fees in fiscal 2003.

Kate Berry and Karey Wutkowski

VOICES

Nell Minow

Editor

Corporate Library

“Calpers has been a leader on certain issues that have become central to the lives of institutional investors. It pioneered work on CEO pay issues and in putting the focus on boards and independent directors. And it’s been involved in the whole issue of shareholder litigation. … If there is a serious issue that needs to be addressed, like the ties with auditors, then it’s worthwhile for them to bring it up.”

William Crist

Professor of Economics

California State University, Stanislaus

(former president of the Calpers board of

administration)

“In the 1990s, Calpers had some storied encounters with the likes of General Motors and Westinghouse, where there was an outright refusal to discuss corporate governance issues. Now that never happens. Or it’s rare. Calpers doesn’t whistle a tune and then a company dances to it. The objective is to increase the value of the company and to start a dialogue.”

Thomas Higgins

Principal

Loral Co., a private equity group

“Where Calpers has taken a stand, they tend to be principled stands in which they’re looking out for stakeholders, who are their retirees. The implication of the criticism against them is that we should go back to the cozy, go-along era that has led to these excesses at Tyco, Cendant and Enron that defy description. These were overwhelming betrayals of shareholders.”

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