Hideto Yamada joined Japan’s ¥132.1 trillion yen ($1.2 trillion) Government Pension Investment Fund as the Tokyo-based plan’s first head of real estate.
Mr. Yamada said he comes to the GPIF from Mitsui Fudosan, where he served for roughly eight years as managing director of the firm’s U.K. business before returning to Tokyo 10 months ago. He joined the GPIF Feb. 1.
Mitsui Fudosan UK announced the appointment of Eiichiro Onozawa as managing director following Mr. Yamada’s departure.
GPIF President Norihiro Takahashi had said in a Jan. 16 interview that his fund still needed to add investment talent to begin making the allocations to infrastructure, real estate and private equity required to construct a portfolio that could prove more resilient to volatile market conditions.
The fund reported results for the quarter ended Sept. 30 showing alternatives allocations accounting for roughly 5 basis points of the total portfolio, a fraction of the 5% target announced more than two years ago as part of a broader asset allocation review.
Mr. Takahashi, in the interview, said at $60 billion, it could take GPIF considerable time to deploy that entire 5% allocation to alternatives. Once attained, however, he said the fund could negotiate with the government to allow a higher target for alternatives.
