GPIF posts 5.1tril yen quarterly gain

TOKYO: The world’s biggest pension fund posted its fourthstraight quarterly gain, as global stocks rose and a decline in the yen against both the US dollar and the euro helped boost the value of its overseas investments.

The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) returned 3.5 per cent, or 5.1 trillion yen (RM196.99 billion), in the three months ended June 30, increasing assets to a record 149.2 trillion yen, it said.

Domestic equities added 2.3 trillion yen as the benchmark Topix index rose in the period, while the value of foreign stocks increased by 1.9 trillion yen.

The retirement fund’s recent string of quarterly gains follows a series of losses after it overhauled its strategy in 2014 to buy more shares and cut debt.

“With stronger stocks, we’re not seeing a repeat of trillions of yen of paper losses that we saw in the past,” said Ayako Sera, a market strategist with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Ltd.

“Performance is improving, but we still have to maintain a calm view.”

The fund’s Japanese share holdings returned 6.6 per cent over the three months, matching the Topix’s performance. Overseas stocks added 5.5 per cent, helped by a 7.6 per cent drop in the yen against the euro, the biggest decline since 2013, as well as weakness versus the greenback, both of which increase the value of foreign holdings when repatriated.

The MSCI All-Country World Index climbed 3.6 per cent last quarter. Bloomberg