The California Public Employees' Retirement System (Calpers) has appointed four investment advisory firms to handle special investment projects for the $165.8bn (€139bn) fund, in a move to broaden the range of advice it receives.

The four firms, Pension Consultant Alliance, Russell Investment Group, RV Kuhns & Associates and Strategic Investment Solutions, will advise on specialist projects but may also be used for asset allocation, investment policies and fund manager selection. Calpers does not have a retained house adviser.