Calpers noticing Asia once again

William Pesek JR

Having neglected Asia, the largest pension fund in the US is having a rethink

California Public Employees Retirement System (Calpers), the largest US pension fund, earned a 23.3% return in 2003. Imagine how much better it might have done if it paid more attention to Asia. In February 2002, Calpers tried to stake out the moral high ground when it pulled out of stocks in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. It cited concerns about corporate governance, political instability and labour standards. It turns out those markets have been among the world"s top performers for two years running. The biggest losers weren"t the economies Calpers vacated but its shareholders. They ...