The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) today announced a new $500 million global infrastructure partnership with UBS Global Asset Management (UBS). CalPERS will contribute $485 million to the newly formed company, while UBS will contribute $15 million and act as managing member.

“UBS brings extensive experience and a proven track record in global infrastructure investing that makes them a great fit for this partnership,” said Ted Eliopoulos, CalPERS Interim Chief Investment Officer. “We’re excited to work with them as we identify and acquire core assets that will provide the best risk-adjusted returns for our portfolio.”

The partnership will operate as Golden State Matterhorn, LLC and will pursue infrastructure investment opportunities in the U.S. and global developed markets.

The CalPERS Infrastructure Program seeks to provide stable, risk-adjusted returns to the Total Fund by investing in public and private infrastructure, primarily within the transportation, power, energy, and water sectors. Infrastructure investments returned 22.8 percent during the 2013-14 Fiscal Year and 23.3 percent over the past five years, outperforming the benchmark by 17.23 and 16.6 percentage points, respectively.

CalPERS currently holds approximately $1.8 billion in infrastructure assets, with a total of $30 billion in the Real Assets portfolio.