<div id="subtitle">Funds paid placement agents $125 million to get business with giant California pension system</div><div><p>Documents released Thursday show placement agents have received more than $125 million in fees from private investment funds for getting business with the giant California Public Employees' Retirement System.</p><p>The nation's largest public pension fund released the payment disclosure documents amid scrutiny into the activities and influence of the agents, who include former CalPERS' board members, and a move to enact a law requiring agents to register as lobbyists while barring contingent fee arrangements.</p><p>Examinations have been conducted across the nation concerning how public pension funds are being steered into investment funds.</p><p>Anne Stausboll, CalPERS' chief executive officer, said the information was being turned over to a law firm that is reviewing the activities of placement agents.</p><p>"In light of recent questions raised about placement agents, we are working aggressively to take measures to provide transparency, adopt thoughtful reforms and restore trust in our system," she said in a statement.</p><p>CalPERS said that more than 600 disclosures were obtained from its outside investment partners either voluntarily or under a new policy mandating disclosure on the use of placement agents and fees on new investment proposals or amendments to existing proposals after May 2009.</p><p>The pension fund said certain external managers mentioned in news stories involving the New York attorney general and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission were asked for voluntary retroactive information.</p><p>CalPERS, which emphasized that it did not hire or pay placement agents, said in a statement that it did not verify or tally all of the reported payments. But the pension fund did release a list of 10 placement agents it said appeared to account for the majority of fees — $125.1 million — paid over the last decade.</p><p>The largest recipient was Arvco Financial Ventures, a company run by former CalPERS board member Alfred Villalobos that was reported to have received $58.9 million in fees. CalPERS said last fall that it was reviewing those payments. A call to a Stateline, Nev., listing for Arvco rang unanswered Thursday.</p><p>CalPERS said there was 90 percent compliance by outside managers who were asked to voluntarily disclose placement agent payments, and those who didn't were being contacted.</p><p>CalPERS has about $200 billion in market assets.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=66928298&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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