Europe Keeps Faith in Abe as Pension Funds Add Stocks
This article is for subscribers only.
European pension funds are buying Japanese shares even as the Topix index trails all major peers amid optimism Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will make good on reforms to boost growth, said Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Ltd.
Pension managers are adding to holdings on expectations Abe will cut corporate taxes and take steps to spur higher wages, according to Masashi Oda, chief investment officer for Japan’s biggest trust bank by assets under management. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust’s European pension-fund clients have increased their Japan equity investments via the bank by 150 percent from a year ago, lured initially by low valuations, and are still buying as the market slips, he said.