The California Public Employees' Retirement System yesterday announced that private equity chief Real Desrochers is stepping down, effective this Friday, in order to join an unidentified "overseas investment bank."

Why it matters: CalPERS is the nation's largest investor in private equity funds, with $26.4 billion in exposure through the end of its most recent fiscal year. But it has made major strategy changes under Desrochers, who joined in 2011 after several years of private equity-related scandal at the public pension giant. One has been to hold a very tough line on fees, which has saved CalPERS money in some cases and cost it lucrative contracts in others. Another has been to begin consolidating the pension's number of outside manager relationships, while committing more money to select managers.