Stunning drop at Calpers

California's giant pension fund saw its value fall by $56 billion from the previous fiscal year. Real estate took a huge hit, as did private equity. But Calpers CIO Joe Dear stressed that the fund was not in any financial danger. From the press release:

This result is not a surprise; it is about what we expected given the collapse of markets across the globe," said Joe Dear, Chief Investment Officer. "The good news is we have the opportunity to capture future returns because of our long- term investment horizon. The System has more than enough cash through contributions and income from investments to meet our present liabilities, so we are in a good position to ride out the current downturn and come out stronger."

From the WSJ:

Some of Calpers's worst-performing assets were private or "alternative" investments, which have attracted the interest of many public pensions and endowments in recent years. Real estate was hardest hit, falling an estimated 35.8%, and private equity was next in line with a 31.4% decline. Figures for both of these categories reflected the 12-month period ending in March. Cash, up 1.4%, and the fund's global fixed-income, which earned 0.6%, were the only reported assets to finish higher.