Japan's GPIF Records $133 Billion in Profits Owing to Strong Stock Performance

Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) reported a record quarterly investment return of 18.98 trillion yen ($133.2 billion) on Aug 4, owing to strong global stock performance and a weaker yen, which inflated overseas returns.

The world's largest pension fund increased its assets by 9.49 percent in the three months to June, bringing total assets to 219.17 trillion yen.

According to a probability model, the 9.49 percent return occurs only once every nine years, according to GPIF President Masataka Miyazono. This is only a short-term result, and GPIF will continue to manage assets in the long term, he said. The increase increased from 5.41 percent in the previous quarter.

Because of its massive size, the fund is closely monitored by global financial markets. During the April-June period, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 3.4%, while Japan's Nikkei stock index increased by 18.4%.

The GPIF's foreign stock portfolio increased 15.43 percent in the quarter, while its Japanese stock portfolio increased 14.37 percent. Its Japanese bond portfolio increased by 0.36 percent, while its foreign bond portfolio increased by 8.08 percent.