Government Pension Investment Fund

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Overview

The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) manages the reserves of Japan's public pension system, which pays the Employees' Pension Insurance and the National Pension. It was established in 2006 as an incorporated administrative agency, and it invests reserves that have been managed in the market since fiscal 2001. It is widely regarded as the largest pension fund in the world.

GPIF held about $1.85 trillion (¥293.6 trillion) as of 31 March 2026, the end of its 2025 fiscal year. In this directory it ranks second by AUM behind the U.S. Social Security Trust Funds. Unlike that statutory fund, GPIF is a discretionary, multi-asset investor. It runs a deliberately simple four-asset model, holding domestic and foreign bonds and domestic and foreign equities in near-equal weights, and it invests predominantly through external managers using passive, index-tracking strategies.

The fund's stated objective is to contribute to the stability of the pension system by securing the investment returns required over the long term, with minimal risk. Because of its scale, GPIF is effectively a universal owner, holding a slice of much of the global listed market. It is headquartered in Tokyo.

Investment Mandate

GPIF invests against a policy asset mix set for each medium-term objectives period. Under the Fifth Medium-Term Objectives Period, which began in April 2025, the policy portfolio is 25 percent each for domestic bonds, foreign bonds, domestic equities, and foreign equities, with permitted deviation bands around each target. Allocation to alternative assets (real estate, infrastructure, and private equity) is capped at 5 percent of the total portfolio and is classified within the four asset classes by risk and return.

The fund invests globally and is weighted heavily toward passive, index-tracking management, executed mostly through external asset managers, with some assets managed in-house. It applies a performance-based fee structure for active managers. As of the end of FY2025, alternatives stood at 1.74 percent of the portfolio, within the 5 percent cap.

Asset class	Policy target	Actual (Mar 2026)
Domestic bonds	25%	26.91%
Foreign bonds	25%	24.48%
Domestic equities	25%	23.81%
Foreign equities	25%	24.80%

Financial Position

Figures from the GPIF FY2025 annual report summary, published July 2026. The fiscal year ran from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.

• Assets under management: $1.85 trillion (¥293.6 trillion) as of 31 March 2026.
• FY2025 investment return: positive 16.47 percent, a gain of ¥41.4 trillion.
• Annualized return since fiscal 2001: 4.67 percent.
• Cumulative investment income since fiscal 2001: ¥196.9 trillion.
• Alternative assets: 1.74 percent of the portfolio, within a 5 percent cap.

Asset class	FY2025 return
Domestic bonds	-5.11%
Foreign bonds	+12.33%
Domestic equities	+34.62%
Foreign equities	+27.16%
Total fund	+16.47%

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Manager approach and matching profile

• Asset classes: public equity, fixed income, and, within the 5 percent cap, real estate, infrastructure, and private equity.
• Geographic focus: global.
• Investment approach: predominantly external managers, passive-weighted, with some in-house management.
• Manager access: the Manager Registration System, a public entry process, with a separate track for alternative assets.
• Policy on unsolicited proposals: engagement is through the registration and procurement process, not unsolicited approaches.

Sources: GPIF FY2025 annual report summary; GPIF Policy Asset Mix for the Fifth Medium-Term Objectives Period; GPIF Manager Registration System and Procurement pages; GPIF Executives page. All figures as of the dates stated.

Governance and Leadership

Following a 2017 reform, GPIF is overseen by a Board of Governors, with an Executive Office led by the President. Senior officers, as published by GPIF, are:

• Kazuto Uchida, President
• Yusuke Yoshizawa, Executive Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer
• Junichi Izumi, Executive Managing Director (Planning and General Affairs)
• Yuri Okina, Chairperson of the Board of Governors

The Board of Governors supervises the Executive Office and includes an Audit Committee. GPIF operates under the Employees' Pension Insurance Act, the National Pension Act, and the act governing the fund, and it is supervised by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

How to Engage

GPIF is a genuine counterparty for asset managers, but it engages through a defined process rather than unsolicited approaches. It selects external managers through a Manager Registration System, with one track for equities and bonds and a separate track for alternative assets. Managers that meet the criteria can register and be considered for mandates, and the fund publishes procurement information. Active managers are paid under a performance-based fee structure.

Given its scale, mandates and ticket sizes are large, and the portfolio is weighted toward passive, index-tracking strategies, with a smaller, capped allocation to alternatives. Managers seeking to work with GPIF should approach through the Manager Registration System rather than direct solicitation.

Sources and Documents

• GPIF, Investment Results and Annual Report Summary for FY2025. Published 3 July 2026. Source for AUM, returns, allocation, and cumulative income. gpif.go.jp/en/performance/
• GPIF, Policy Asset Mix for the Fifth Medium-Term Objectives Period. Source for the 25 percent policy targets and the alternatives cap. gpif.go.jp/en/
• GPIF, Executives. Source for the leadership roster. gpif.go.jp/en/about/executives.html
• GPIF, Manager Registration System and Procurement. Source for manager access and process. gpif.go.jp/en/investment/ and gpif.go.jp/en/info/procurement.html
• USD conversion basis: US Dollar to Japanese Yen exchange rate on 31 March 2026, ¥158.75 per USD, exchange-rates.org.
• DEEP Disclosure Rating methodology. /deep-disclosure-rating/

Data Notes and Methodology

Figures are reported by GPIF in Japanese yen for the fiscal year ended 31 March 2026. The US dollar figure for assets under management is a point-in-time conversion of ¥293.6 trillion at the 31 March 2026 exchange rate of ¥158.75 per US dollar, and it does not change as the exchange rate moves. Return and income figures are shown in yen as reported by GPIF. Returns are time-weighted and gross of fees. The DEEP Disclosure Score was assessed against the published rubric on GPIF's own disclosures, with no items marked not applicable.

• Last updated: August 2026
• Next expected update: FY2026 results (around July 2027), with quarterly updates in between
• DEEP Disclosure Rating last assessed: August 2026