Gregg Gethard

The nation’s largest pension system stays with Meketa as the reshaping of its private equity program takes hold.

The consumer-focused manager seeks at least $1.25bn.

The $72.4bn pension system is one of the most aggressive LPs in pursuing these types of deals.

The system was unable to finalize the decision at an earlier meeting.

“What happens if one of the managers decides to lay off 10% of staff of one of their investments? Can you imagine the headlines and pressure on us to step in and prevent that from happening,” said one board member.

Consultant Wilshire projects an expected 10-year return of 9.9% for private equity.

CalPERS ranks Wilshire as the top candidate for both its general fund and private equity program as the nation’s largest pension system continues its PE overhaul.

The system looks to reach an 8% targeted allocation to private equity.

More LPs are pushing back against usually routine requests as they face slowing cash flows and concerns about valuations.

The $5.6bn system’s investment staff criticized projected distributions from consultants.