Back in March, Japan’s Global Pension Investment Fund appointed Norihiro Takahashi as its new president. Few paid much attention to it, but it may very well end up being one of the most significant events that occurred as we look back in twelve to eighteen months.
The GPIF manages roughly $1.2 trillion in assets, with over 60% currently allocated domestically between equity and fixed income. Given the state of the stock market and the negative interest rate policy in Japan, it would make sense that an incoming president would take a hard look at the current asset mix policy and adjust it to best suit the needs of its members, something outgoing president Takahiro Mitani has been vocal about in recent years.
Recall that back in 2014 under pressure from Prime Minister Abe to move the fund into riskier assets, Mr. Mitani reluctantly rebalanced its portfolio away from domestic bonds, and into domestic equities, something that clearly did not make him happy. “Our sole objective is not to invest so that the Japanese economy will be better; our job is to invest with the people’s money in a safe and efficient manner so we can protect and manage their funds” the Financial Times quoted him as saying.
This post was published at Zero Hedge on 05/03/2016.
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