It’s no secret that the pension fund industry moves in lock stepat times, an almost herd mentality, when it comes to real estateinvesting. There are a few clear leaders at the front of the pack,and their movements are considered a bellwether for the future.

That's why the recent moves by the CalPERS areso significant. When America’s largest public pension plan, with$228 billion in assets under management, makes a move, and makes itvery publicly, that’s something that rightfully draws attention.After all, CalPERS has more than $18 billion invested in globalreal estate, which is about 8% of its total investmentportfolio.

Of course, the big fund can invest monies from its substantialcoffers on just about anything it chooses, so when it purchased a$100-million stake in real estate investment advisorBentall Kennedy in late June, it sent the entireCRE industry into a dither. But why, and who’s Bentall Kennedyanyway?