Cautious might best describe CalPERS’ current approach to venture capital. Cautious, with one big exception for Vinod Khosla.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System has been a steady investor in venture capital over the past decade or so, according to portfolio data it posts online. The most current update of its holdings, dating to Dec. 31, 2010, shows the pension fund with about 217 venture funds.

However, its appetite for new funds slowed in recent years, no doubt due to the global recession. The money manager added 29 new funds in 2007 and 24 in 2008, peHUB found in an analysis of the data. Then the wheels ground to a near halt.

It added seven funds in 2009 and four in 2010. In such a parsimonious world, we thought it would be interesting to look at the funds CalPERS added to its sprawling portfolio. The additions may surprise you…and in any event bring us back to Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla (pictured above).

For the most part, recent fund commitments have been modest. The average amount of capital earmarked for 9 of the 11 new funds comes to $10.6 million, somewhat paltry by CalPERS’ historic standards.

Khosla Ventures stands in contrast. The pension fund allocated a whopping $200 million to Khosla Ventures III in 2009 and $60 million to Khosla Ventures Seed the same year. Hardly chump change.

What follows is a list of CalPERS’ 2009 and 2010 funds from the smallest commitment to the largest. Let me know if you are surprised by the choices.