Government Pension Investment Fund, Tokyo, the largest pension fund in the world, posted -0.31% returns for the quarter that ended on Sept. 30, which amounted to a ￥683.2 billion ($4.6 billion) loss.
Total assets stood at ￥219.32 trillion, up slightly from ￥219.17 trillion the previous quarter, which ended on June 30.
The negative return was driven by domestic bonds, which lost 2.74% in the quarter. Foreign bonds returned -0.79% and foreign equities suffered a 0.1% loss. Domestic equities gained 2.49%.
GPIF's investment portfolio is roughly split among domestic and foreign bonds, and domestic and foreign equities, along with a 1.54% allocation to alternatives.
The previous quarter, the fund posted a 9.49% return, as its domestic and foreign equity portfolios recorded double-digit gains of 14.37% and 15.43%, respectively, foreign bonds returned 8.08% and domestic bonds gained 0.36%.
The Bank of Japan has been adjusting its yield curve control policy. On Oct. 31, it tightened policy further to allow 10-year Japanese government bond yields to rise above 1%.
