Japan's government pension fund on Friday reported a largest-ever profit of 45.42 trillion yen ($283 billion) for the year through March 2024, driven by higher share prices and a weak yen that inflated the value of foreign assets.
The Government Pension Investment Fund, one of the world's largest institutional investors, remained in the black for the fourth straight year with a 22.67 percent return on its investments. It had a record 245.98 trillion yen in assets at the end of March.
The fund manages its pension reserves stably from a long-term perspective and aims to support the pension system of the rapidly aging nation.
It makes a point of allocating funds evenly to stocks and bonds, both Japanese and foreign, to minimize total investment risks.
All of GPIF's assets increased in value over the past fiscal year, except for Japanese bonds, which had a 1.14 trillion yen loss. Japanese bond yields rose but prices fell as the Bank of Japan moved toward reducing monetary stimulus by cutting its bond purchases.
GPIF's Japanese stock portfolio yielded a 19.39 trillion yen profit, while its foreign stock had a 19.30 trillion yen gain. Its foreign bond holdings produced a 7.87 trillion yen profit.
