Government Pension Investment Fund, Tokyo, issued a request for information on illiquid assets as it weighs conducting research into new asset classes
The RFI called for information and measurement methods on existing and new illiquid asset classes that the fund is invested in. "We will consider conducting further research on the development of such a methodology based on the information we receive," the RFI wrote on March 19.
The ￥224.7 trillion ($1.53 trillion) fund is open to receiving information on asset classes that it does not have exposure to, including forests, farmland, gold and crypto assets such as bitcoin. Specifically, the fund is seeking information on investment examples, investment philosophy and strategies to incorporate these assets into portfolios.
The type of information to be submitted includes academic research, investment methods, investment technologies, systems, indices, analysis tools, and the estimated cost required for the research.
The information received through this RFI will aid GPIF in deciding whether or not to conduct further research on illiquid assets, a spokesperson said. "We have not decided whether or not to conduct the research," she said.
She added that the assets listed are merely examples and that the RFI is not directly related to GPIF's investments.
GPIF has a 5% allocation cap for alternative assets in its portfolio, but had only 1.53% invested in alternatives as of Dec. 31.
Of the ￥2.83 trillion invested in alternatives on March 31, 2023, ￥1.45 trillion was in infrastructure, ￥919.4 billion was in real estate and ￥467.3 was in private equity.
