Japan pension fund eyes emerging mkt stocks -Nikkei

Japan's public pension fund, thelargest in the world, is considering investing in emerging marketequities from the financial year starting next April, the Nikkeisaid on Friday.

The Government Pension Investment Fund, which managed about117.6 trillion yen ($1.2 trillion) in assets as of the end ofMarch, may target higher returns by investing in stocks incountries such as China and India, the business daily reportedwithout citing any sources.

A GPIF official said the fund has made no final decision onwhether to invest in emerging markets from 2010/11.

The GPIF has been reviewing a new model portfolio that itplans to implement from next financial year and has beenconsidering a wide range of investment ideas, he said.

GPIF President Takahiro Kawase told Reuters in an interviewin February that the fund may eventually invest in alternativeassets, such as hedge funds, but needed to study the asset classin depth first. [ID:nLC817273]

The GPIF posted a record loss of almost $100 billion in theyear that ended in March, hit hard by the global financial crisisand a sharp appreciation in the yen. [ID:nT144477]

Of the money it manages, 73.94 percent is in domestic bonds,including zaito bonds used to fund projects forgovernment-related entities, 9.69 percent is in Japanese stocks, 7.72 percent is in foreign stocks, 8.51 percent is in foreignbonds and 0.14 percent is in short term assets.

It allocates its investments based on its model portfolio,which currently is weighted 67 percent to domestic bonds, 11percent to domestic stocks, 9 percent to foreign stocks and 8 percent to foreign bonds.