(Bloomberg) Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund has returned 1.8 trillion yen or $17 billion in the sixth straight quarter of gains, taking its total assets to a record $194.1 trillion yen.
The GPIF, which also ranks as the world’s largest pension fund, has already risen by 0.98% in the quarter to September on robust performance of Japan’s stocks. Japanese stocks earned 5.4% in the period, compared to overseas stocks which fell by 0.8%.
GPIF fund president Masataka Miyazono says the robust returns are attributed to the normalization of economic activities due to vaccinations and expectations of favorable future economic policies.
The Japanese fund has been on a strong rebound since its record loss in early 2020 at the onset of the pandemic, posting a record gain of 25% in the 12 months that ended March this year.
GPIF still faces uncertainty over its decision to avoid yuan-denominated Chinese sovereign debt. Shingo Ide, an analyst at NLI Research Institute, says rising inflation is also a risk factor for the fund.
