Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) has invested 20 billion yen (US$123 million) in a private equity fund, the pension giant’s first direct investment in the asset class.
The money was invested in a ten-year fund focusing on domestic projects managed by Japanese private equity firm Advantage Partners, according to data published on the GPIF’s website on July 21.
The move came a week after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that investing in Japanese assets would help the nation’s economy, support sovereign debt market and reduce selling pressure on the yen.
The GPIF has previously invested in Japanese private equity funds via discretionary agreements that leave investment decisions to asset managers. Its website shows the pension fund had 53.8 billion yen in outstanding private equity funds through these agreements.
The GPIF is the world’s largest pension fund, with more than 293 trillion yen of assets under management as of end-March.
