CalPERS has $67 million of exposure to the failed Silicon Valley Bank and $11 million exposure to Signature bank, CIO Nicole Musicco, said at a board meeting Monday.
"Those are the assets at risk, likely at a loss, but in the grand scheme of things, a small percentage of our overall portfolio," Ms. Musicco said.
The California Public Employees' Retirement System, Sacramento, has $457.4 billion in assets. Pension funds around the world are weighing their exposure to Silicon Valley Bank and other regional banks that are in crisis and fund the venture capital industry.
Ms. Musicco congratulated the investment team for the speed in which it provided her information on CalPERS' exposure to SVB and other regional banks.
She also said that last weekend's developments revealed that CalPERS is not only resilient but also innovative. CalPERS team got a number of inbound calls, she said.
"I think the word is finally getting ... that we can be a very strategic partner, we can be thoughtful… and agile in providing solutions for balance sheet restructuring and in general patient long-term capital," Ms. Musicco said.
"There is nothing in the works but my phone continues to buzz and I think it's really exciting to see our pronouncement to the world we're open for business," she said.
Separately, Daniel Booth, a senior adviser to the UK Infrastructure Bank, will be joining CalPERS as deputy CIO, private markets,Ms. Musicco said. Dan Bienvenue is currently the Deputy CIO, capital markets.
"We are delighted to bring on another strategic thinker to add to the ranks as we make a big push into private capital," she said.
