The largest public pension plan in the U.S. is ramping up its alternative portfolio with commitments totaling $1 billion to four private equity funds and a managed futures offering.

The $231 billion pension plan in June committed $723 million to CVC European Equity Partners V, a $15 billion fund; $75 million to Levine Leichtman Capital Partners Fund IV, a $1.5 billion fund; $85 million to Lime Rock Partners V, a $1.4 billion fund; and $100 million to TPG Biotechnology Partners III, a biotech and life sciences offering.
 
On the managed futures front, CalPERS is committing $100 million to the BlueTrend Fund, a systematic managed futures fund managed by London-based BlueCrest Capital Management. The fund trades commodity and financial futures across 150 global markets.

According to an internal memo, CalPERS staff has determined that systematic futures trading strategies can both generate alpha uncorrelated to other funds and make money in both up and down markets. CalPERS is also attracted to BlueTrend’s 50-strong research and development team of PhDs and other advanced degree personnel.