Key Takeaways
- • Anton Orlich promoted to deputy chief investment officer for private markets at CalPERS, the $621 billion pension fund, overseeing private equity, private credit, real estate, and infrastructure programs reporting to CIO Stephen Gilmore.
- • Orlich replaces Daniel Booth, who departed in October 2025, following a global search; he has managed private equity at CalPERS since 2022 and will continue leading that division until a successor is found.
- • Under Orlich's leadership, CalPERS' private equity program delivered double-digit annualized returns across five-, 10-, and 20-year periods as of March 2026, achieving top-quartile returns for the first time in the plan's history through 2023 and 2024 vintage commitments.
- • CalPERS maintains significant alternative asset allocation: 20 percent to private equity, 13 percent to real assets, and 4 percent to private debt, positioning Orlich to oversee approximately one-third of the pension fund's portfolio.
- • Orlich's strategy has emphasized manager selection optimization, lower-cost structures, and diversification toward venture, growth, and middle-market buyout companies, demonstrating improved team engagement and performance under his oversight.
Summary
The California Public Employees' Retirement System has promoted Anton Orlich to deputy chief investment officer for private markets, following an extensive global search to fill the vacancy left by Daniel Booth's departure in October 2025. Orlich, who has served as managing investment director of private equity since 2022 and held interim responsibility for private debt from 2024 to 2025, will now oversee the pension fund's comprehensive alternative investment portfolio, including private equity, private credit, real estate, and infrastructure programs. He will report directly to CIO Stephen Gilmore.
The promotion reflects Orlich's substantial performance gains in CalPERS' private equity division. Since assuming leadership of the private equity program, he has restructured the investment approach to emphasize rigorous manager selection, reduced fee structures, and strategic diversification toward venture, growth, and middle-market buyout opportunities. These initiatives have generated double-digit annualized returns across five-, 10-, and 20-year measurement periods as of March 2026. Most significantly, Orlich's commitments in the 2023 and 2024 vintage years delivered the plan's first top-quartile private equity returns in its history, a watershed achievement for one of the nation's largest public pension funds.
CIO Stephen Gilmore characterized Orlich's leadership as demonstrating measurable results: "Anton's strong leadership of our private equity effort shows up not only in higher returns, but also through greater engagement and performance among our team members." The promotion expands his mandate beyond the 20 percent private equity allocation to oversee the entire alternative investment ecosystem, which includes the 13 percent real assets weighting and 4 percent private debt allocation within CalPERS' diversified portfolio.
Orlich, a former U.S. Navy intelligence officer with service in Afghanistan, will maintain operational leadership of private equity during the search for his successor in that division. His expanded role consolidates alternative investment oversight under a single leadership position, streamlining decision-making across multiple asset classes and investment strategies. The promotion underscores CalPERS' confidence in Orlich's ability to drive institutional-grade returns and operational excellence across a complex, multi-billion-dollar alternative investment platform.
The promotion reflects Orlich's substantial performance gains in CalPERS' private equity division. Since assuming leadership of the private equity program, he has restructured the investment approach to emphasize rigorous manager selection, reduced fee structures, and strategic diversification toward venture, growth, and middle-market buyout opportunities. These initiatives have generated double-digit annualized returns across five-, 10-, and 20-year measurement periods as of March 2026. Most significantly, Orlich's commitments in the 2023 and 2024 vintage years delivered the plan's first top-quartile private equity returns in its history, a watershed achievement for one of the nation's largest public pension funds.
CIO Stephen Gilmore characterized Orlich's leadership as demonstrating measurable results: "Anton's strong leadership of our private equity effort shows up not only in higher returns, but also through greater engagement and performance among our team members." The promotion expands his mandate beyond the 20 percent private equity allocation to oversee the entire alternative investment ecosystem, which includes the 13 percent real assets weighting and 4 percent private debt allocation within CalPERS' diversified portfolio.
Orlich, a former U.S. Navy intelligence officer with service in Afghanistan, will maintain operational leadership of private equity during the search for his successor in that division. His expanded role consolidates alternative investment oversight under a single leadership position, streamlining decision-making across multiple asset classes and investment strategies. The promotion underscores CalPERS' confidence in Orlich's ability to drive institutional-grade returns and operational excellence across a complex, multi-billion-dollar alternative investment platform.
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