Japan's GPIF names ex-Goldman executive as CIO

Mizuno, previously an executive at secondaries investor Coller Capital, concluded his first term last September and was reappointed for a second, truncated term of six months. This meant his tenure ended with that of Norihiro Takahashi, GPIF’s president. Last week, Masataka Miyazono was announced as Takahashi’s replacement. 

Miyazono was most recently head of the Pension Fund Association, one of Japan’s largest pension funds, but spent most of his career at Norinchukin Bank. Takahashi is also a Norinchukin alumnus. 

As of year-end 2019, GPIF had JPY168.9 trillion ($1.57 trillion) in assets, making it the world’s largest pension savings pool: 24.9% in domestic bonds, 25% in domestic equities, 19.2% in foreign bonds, 27.6% in foreign equities, and 3.4% in short-term assets. Alternatives accounted for just 0.5% of the portfolio, up from 0.26% in March 2019. The maximum permitted exposure is 5%. 

The pension fund recently announced a revision in its target allocations, which will see equal allocations of 25% for domestic bonds and equities and foreign bonds and equities. This conforms to the general evolution of GPIF’s portfolio over the past five years as part of efforts to support an aging population. The fund’s benefit payments have exceeded contributions since 2009.

As part of the shift to higher-return assets, GPIF entered the alternatives space in 2014 with the establishment of an infrastructure co-investment platform with Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) and Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS). This was followed by a commitment to a global private equity fund-of-funds managed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

GPIF made its first call for applications from alternative managers in April 2017. Since then, it has appointed gatekeepers and separate account managers for infrastructure and real estate. This has yet to happen for private equity, though the selection process started in 2017.

In addition to overseeing this portfolio diversification, Mizuno has been an outspoken advocate for greater emphasis on environment, social and governance (ESG) issues within the investment community.

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