Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • LOGIN
  • Subscribe
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Consultants
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Face to Face
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Regulation
    • SECURE 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • Washington
    • White Papers
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • WPS Innovation Awards
    • Influential Women in Institutional Investing 2023
    • Eddy Awards
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
    • ESG Investing | Industry Brief
    • Innovation in ESG Investing
    • 2023 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Divestment Database
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • The Plan Sponsor's Guide to Retirement Income
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • DC Plan Design: Improving Participant Outcomes
    • 2023 Defined Contribution East Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Research Center
    • The P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. PENSION FUNDS
May 28, 2018 01:00 AM

CalPERS CIO proud of improving real estate portfolio

Arleen Jacobius
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    David Toerge
    Theodore "Ted" Eliopoulos' successor will take over the project to create a private equity entity.

    When CIO Theodore "Ted" Eliopoulos leaves the California Public Employees' Retirement System at the end of this year, he will be passing a huge project to his successor, creating a separate entity that would make direct private equity and late-stage venture capital investments.

    Mr. Eliopoulos, who announced on May 14 that he would be leaving the $355.9 billion pension plan, said he will have plenty of time during the year to reflect on his tenure at CalPERS, what he could have done better and what he would like to change.

    But in a telephone interview on May 17, he said that turning around the real estate portfolio after the global financial crisis was his greatest accomplishment.

    Mr. Eliopoulos began working at Sacramento-based CalPERS in 2007 as a senior investment officer for the real estate division and the real assets unit — just in time for the global financial crisis. He also worked in the real estate and real assets investment team when the national pay-to-play scandal rocked CalPERS in 2009.

    He was named interim chief investment officer in June 2013, taking over the position from the late Joe Dear. In September 2014, he was named to the position permanently.

    In the 12 years he has worked at CalPERS, he said, the pension fund's staff and board have done "an amazing job … and has been rightly focused on continuous improvement with governance structure and building an investment office with a very strong decision-making process in place with people with the right skills."

    He acknowledged it is never a good time to leave the type of position he now holds, but said the new private equity direct investment corporation is expected to last decades.

    However, this new private equity strategy involving an outside corporation is not a done deal.

    The board has not yet created a separate corporate entity, several board members noted. The board in closed session gave Mr. Eliopoulos and the investment staff the authority to begin studying what this structure might look like and start talking about the models with the financial industry, board member Richard Costigan said. The board directed Mr. Eliopoulos to bring the information back to the board to consider further steps, Mr. Costigan said.

    "If approved it will have a 40- to 50-year lifetime ... It will also need the leadership of all of CalPERS and it will see a succession of CIOs through its lifetime," Mr. Eliopoulos said.

    When asked to describe his biggest accomplishment, Mr. Eliopoulos said he "is enormously proud" of restructuring CalPERS' $30.5 billion real estate portfolio after the financial crisis.

    In 2012, for example, CalPERS terminated more than 20 real estate managers, reducing the total to 60. The goal at the time was to have 20 to 30 real estate managers. As of June 30, CalPERS had 21 managers, according to its latest real asset report released in November.

    ​ Mr. Eliopoulos and his real estate team began, also in 2012, aggressively moving the pension fund's then-$21 billion global real estate portfolio into core real estate. Some 77% of CalPERS' real estate portfolio was in core real estate as of June 30, according to its latest annual real asset review.

    The portfolio had greatly underperformed after the financial crisis, in part, because it had been overweight in opportunistic and value-added real estate and underweight in core.

    Even so, the real estate portfolio has underperformed its benchmark for all periods except the one year as of June 30, the real asset report shows. It earned a net 7.6%, above its 7.4% benchmark. CalPERS' real estate portfolio returned 10.8%, compared to the 11.1% benchmark for five years. For the 10 years, it returned -1.3%, underperforming the 7.8% benchmark; and 6.8% vs 10.3% for the 20 years ended June 30.

    Still, Mr. Eliopoulos said he is "not gone yet," and that he will be even prouder if the transition to his successor goes seamlessly.

    Related Articles
    CalPERS CIO to leave at end of year for family reasons
    CalPERS eyes creating corporate structure for direct private equity investing
    California funds on separate paths to direct investment
    California funds on separate paths to direct investment
    CalPERS to launch real estate separate account search
    Recommended for You
    Iowa_State_Capitol_i.jpg
    Iowa Public Employees narrows absolute-return search to 7 finalists
    Ohio-flag-chalk_i.jpg
    Ohio State Teachers now considering separate consultants for DB, DC plans
    ohio_us_flags_1550-main_i.jpg
    Ohio School Employees chalks up 7.4% return for fiscal year
    Carving a Path For Fixed Income Through Shifting Scenarios
    Sponsored Content: Carving a Path For Fixed Income Through Shifting Scenarios
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    2023 Hot Topics in Retirement and Financial Wellbeing
    Bonds: Shaken, but Not Stirred
    A Study of Allocations to Alternative Investments by Institutions and Financial…
    Unlocking Hidden Value in Japan
    The Art of the Possible in Data Automation for Institutional Investors
    Parnassus View - Investing in AI: Transformative New Tech, Same Old Rules
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    December 12, 2022 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Custom Content
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Consultants
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Face to Face
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Regulation
      • SECURE 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • Washington
      • White Papers
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • WPS Innovation Awards
      • Influential Women in Institutional Investing 2023
      • Eddy Awards
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
      • ESG Investing | Industry Brief
      • Innovation in ESG Investing
      • 2023 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
      • Divestment Database
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • The Plan Sponsor's Guide to Retirement Income
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • DC Plan Design: Improving Participant Outcomes
      • 2023 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Research Center
      • The P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars