Japan’s ¥21.1 trillion ($173 billion) Pension Fund Association for Local Government Officials hired 11 managers to run active global bond portfolios, said a spokesman for the Tokyo-based pension fund.
Nomura Asset Management would manage global bonds using the Nomura RAFI foreign bonds investment index as a benchmark, said a news release on the website of the pension fund, which goes by the abbreviated Japanese name Chikyoren.
Four managers, meanwhile, will use the Barclays Global Aggregate, ex-Japan, as a benchmark: Goldman Sachs Asset Management, DIAM Asset Management, Fidelity Investments and Prudential Investment Management Japan. The DIAM allocation will be subadvised by Janus Capital Management.
The remaining six managers will use the Citi World Government Bond index, ex-Japan, as a benchmark:
- Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Asset Management, to be subadvised by Colchester Global Investors;
- Daiwa SB Investments, to be subadvised by T. Rowe Price;
- Pacific Investment Management Co. Japan;
- Mizuho Investments;
- Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, to be subadvised by Pictet Asset Management; and
- Resona Bank
The Chikyoren spokesman said all 11 firms were newly hired by the pension fund. He declined to give details on the specific allocation sizes.
As of the March 31, the close of the pension fund’s latest fiscal year, the fund reported roughly ¥2.4 trillion allocated to overseas bonds, or 11.4% of the total portfolio.
The spokesman declined to say what portion of the foreign bond allocation was actively managed, or whether the 11 newly hired firms are joining managers already running active foreign bond portfolios for the fund.
