The Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan, or Shigaku Kyosai, reported pension assets of ¥4.193 trillion ($34 billion) as of the March 31 close of its latest fiscal year, up nearly 9% from the year before.
Aided by the Japanese stock market's roughly 30% gain for the period, and a 16% weakening of the yen against the dollar, which boosted the value of the Tokyo-based pension fund's allocations to overseas stocks and bonds in local currency terms, the latest gains were up from the previous year's 7.3% advance and just shy of the 9.2% gain for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013.
In line with other major public pension funds over the past year, Shigaku Kyosai shifted assets into risk assets from domestic bonds and cash.
As of March 31, the portfolio had allocations of 50.7% domestic bonds, 15.3% domestic stocks, 14.1% international stocks, 13.4% overseas bonds and 6.5% to cash.
Allocations at the end of the prior fiscal year had been 56.4% domestic bonds, 11.9% overseas bonds, 11.1% overseas stocks, 10.6% cash and 10% domestic stocks.
A Shigaku Kyosai spokesman noted that Japan's leading public pension funds have agreed to aim for common asset allocation targets of 35% domestic bonds, 25% each for domestic and overseas stocks, and 15% for overseas bonds.
There's no compulsion to reach those targets by any specific date, but they remain goals to be moved toward gradually, he said.
