Marcie Frost, CEO of the nation’s largest pension fund, CalPERS, said his portfolio added more investments to protect against the price spike, including real assets. “We’re long-term investors and we’re going to be paying attention to the short term. We’re much more worried if inflation were to stay the same,” Frost said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday. “We know the Fed is working diligently to try to control inflation.” CalPERS — California’s public employee retirement system — oversees about $500 billion in its pension fund. Frost said she changed her asset allocation to have some downside protection on factory-weighted stocks, which make up about half of the portfolio. Meanwhile, the CEO said the pension fund had increased its exposure to real assets to double digits to hedge against inflation. Real assets include precious metals, commodities, real estate, land, equipment and natural resources. Frost said the fund specifically added exposure to infrastructure. The February CPI, which measures the costs of dozens of daily consumer goods, rose 7.9% from a year ago, the highest figure since 1982. CalPERS also increased its capital position -investment at 13% of his portfolio versus 8%, Frost said. . “We remain committed to our long-term strategy. … On the private equity side, we’ve always had a fairly large focus on private assets, including a new allocation to private debt,” Frost said. “It’s about diversifying the portfolio to withstand the various market conditions we’ve been in for decades.”
Marcie Frost, CEO of CalPERS, speaks at the Milken Institute’s 22nd Annual Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California on April 29, 2019.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Marcie Frost, CEO of the nation’s largest pension fund, CalPERS, said his portfolio added more investments to protect against the price spike, including real assets.
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