The value of investments held by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System rose to $261.7 billion as of Friday, putting it above its previous high in 2007 before the financial crises and recession sent it tumbling, Reuters reported.

This week there are a handful of associate positions up for grabs, two with a focus on real estate and CalPERS is hiring for a private equity portfolio manager but you’d better be quick off the mark – closing date is March 14.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has named Cheryl Eason as its CFO, a newly created position to oversee the financial and risk management operations of the $243 billion pension fund. Eason was most recently a VP for the British Columbia Pension Corporation, one of the largest pension benefit administrators in Canada, and the largest in British Columbia.

Trying to counter claims aired at a recent state Senate hearing, Joe Dear, chief investment officer of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, wrote a letter to the hearing chairman saying he was “troubled by testimony that questioned our commitment and intentions” with regard to emerging managers – investment firms that are often managed by women and minorities.

As CalPERS moves aggressively to overhaul its private equity program, it now has a full senior team in place to carry out the changes, according to Buyouts, peHUB’s sister magazine.

Venture capital has wallowed through nearly a decade of difficult returns and sluggish fundraising. The decision by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System to largely abandon new commitments to venture funds will likely prolong the agony.

Turnaround and recovery funds of 2001 and 2002 vintage are the money spinners for CalPERs as of its most recent private equity performance report. European-headquartered firms also make up almost half of the top ten performers for CalPERS for this period.

PeHUB zeroed in on the years 2006 to 2009 to highlight the 10 funds with the worst IRRs. Six are vintage 2006, three come from vintage 2007.

Vintage 2007 is a stand-out year for venture funds in CalPERS’ Grove Street Advisors portfolio, according to a peHUB analysis of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System’s most recent fund performance report.

Private equity fundraising and investing in the emerging markets were both down in the first quarter of 2012, according to recent figures from the Emerging Private Equity Association.