Japan Pension Fund Urged to Diversify as Independent Body

Japan’s 121 trillion yen ($1.21 trillion) pension fund needs more independence from bureaucrats and should put some of the world’s biggest retirement savings pool into private equity and commodities, an expert panel said.

The Government Pension Investment Fund should review domestic bond holdings and consider investing more in overseas assets, according to a report released by the advisory group yesterday. The fund should also look at diversifying into private equity, commodities and real-estate investment trusts, where returns may be higher than on local sovereign bonds, the panel said.