Calpers, the largest US state pension scheme, is to allow its $5.8bn (€4.27bn) of emerging markets assets to include holdings in Russia and China for the first time in five years and has shortlisted four emerging markets specialists to help it do so.

Calpers has lost more than $400m as a result of refusing to invest in higher-risk emerging equity markets since 2002, particularly its avoidance of the booming Chinese market.