Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund, Tokyo, the world's biggest pension fund with ¥226.41 trillion ($1.6 trillion) in assets as of Dec. 31, hired 16 money managers in December to oversee 23 active domestic equity mandates.
A news release posted on GPIF's website outlined a broad array of contracts GPIF had signed with managers and other service providers.
The managers signing contracts with GPIF on Dec. 7 included both Japanese and international asset management firms.
The Japanese-headquartered firms on the list are Asset Management One, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp., Nikko Asset Management Co., Nomura Asset Management, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Co., Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management Co., and Tokio Marine Asset Management Co.
The foreign managers awarded mandates were BlackRock Institutional Trust Co., Columbia Management Investment Advisers, GLG Partners, Goldman Sachs Asset Management (Singapore), J.P. Morgan Asset Management, M&G Investment Management, Manulife Investment Management (Europe), Pictet Asset Management, and Wellington Management Co.
The announcement comes after GPIF announced a restructuring of its manager lineup for active North American equities in January 2023 and the hiring of 13 fund managers for developed market ex-Japan equities in August.
A spokesperson confirmed that the February announcement is the third selection of managers but not necessarily the last.
Details regarding the amount of assets allocated to each manager and the benchmarks for their respective mandates will only be revealed in GPIF's annual report in July.
The pension fund also announced the extension of existing contracts with managers for active foreign equities, and details will be announced in the annual report, the spokesperson said.
