JAPAN TODAY


 

TOKYO — The Japanese government pension fund said Friday it posted a record investment profit of 10.50 trillion yen ($91.90 billion) in the October-December period, boosted by a rally in stocks at home and abroad following Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election last November.

The Government Pension Investment Fund, the world’s largest pension fund, logged the biggest investment profit for a quarter since fiscal 2001, when it started managing its investments on its own.

Strong performance in stocks, based on high expectations for economic policies by the new U.S. president, along with a weak yen that expands the value of foreign equities and bonds in yen terms, boosted the GPIF’s investment profit.

In the October-December quarter, the return on investment was 7.98%, and total assets stood at a record 144.80 trillion yen, according to the GPIF.

“We were able to generate profits this time but the global economy still faces difficult problems. We will make careful decisions on investments,” an official at the fund said.

By type of assets, the GPIF recorded an investment profit of 4.61 trillion yen in domestic stocks, 4.82 trillion yen in foreign stocks and 1.58 trillion yen in foreign bonds. The fund incurred a loss of 519 billion yen in domestic bonds as their prices fell, moving inversely to equities.

The results followed a profit of 2.37 trillion yen in the July-September period on the back of a recovery in global share prices following a financial market downturn triggered by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union last June.

The pension fund has boosted allocations to riskier assets since 2014, putting half of its funds in equities.

In fiscal 2015 ended March last year, the fund logged an investment loss of 5.31 trillion yen, incurring a loss for the first time in five years due partly to weak global shares.

© KYODO