Japan’s GPIF selects groups for PE feasibility study

GPIF is the world's biggest public pension fund with JPY108.2 trillion ($1.31trillion) in assets. It revealed to AVCJ last month that it is considering diversifying into alternative assets and that it had started a consultation process in September.

In the face of a rapidly aging Japanese population, the fund has been paying out more in benefits that has received in contributions since 2009 and keen to generate higher long-term investment returns.

According to Reuters, GPIF has selected Japanese law firm Atsumi & Sakai, Swiss private equity firm Capital Dynamics, Japanese life insurer-backed asset firm T&D Asset Management and Tokyo-based independent private equity consultant firm Brightrust PE Japan for the feasibility studies.

The results of the studies, which are to be completed by March next year, will be presented to the public and to the members of fund's investment committee for review in the future, a GPIF official said.

The public fund is considering whether to diversify into infrastructure, private equity and property, although not into hedge funds, Takahiro Mitani, Chairman of GPIF, said. The fund has already started to invest in emerging markets equities earlier this year.

The fund makes allocations in line with its model portfolio, which give a weighting of 11% to domestic stocks, 67% to domestic bonds, 9% to foreign stocks, 8% to foreign bonds and 5% to short-term assets.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• LPs
• Japan
• Government Pension Investment Fund (Japan)
• LPs
• Capital Dynamics
• Brightrust