Calpers completes sale of RI, KL, Thai stocks

Calpers completes sale of RI, KL, Thai stocks

NEW YORK: The California Public Employees Retirement System has completed the sale of stocks in three emerging markets it decided to shun last year on the advice of a consultant.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand were excluded from Calpers' investment universe in connection with the pension plan's decision last year to move US$1.1 billion of its $1.6 billion of emerging market assets from a passively managed portfolio to three active money managers - AllianceBernstein, Dimensional Fund Advisors and Genesis Asset Managers Ltd.

The $125 billion pension plan also adopted a new policy of investing only in stocks of countries that meet strict criteria for political stability, financial transparency and labor standards.

As a result, Hungary and Poland were added to the list of permissible countries, while Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand were deleted.

The Philippines was initially struck from the list of permissible countries as well, but Calpers decided to retain its investments in that country after public officials provided evidence that the economy was solid. -- Dow Jones