Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., one of the nation's oldest insurers, is joining its Chinese peers in investing in property overseas — but with a twist.
Unlike counterparts like China Life Insurance Co. and Anbang Insurance Group Co., which have been buying trophy properties in the United States and Europe, Tokio Marine is putting its money into funds that invest in real estate, said Shinji Kawano, head of Tokio Marine's property asset management unit.
Tokio Marine, which traces its roots back 136 years to the Meiji Era, is eager to avoid the missteps of the 1980s, when Japanese investors buoyed by bubble-era valuations snapped up landmark buildings that later came back to haunt them. The nation's insurance companies and pension funds are boosting purchases of overseas assets, such as real estate, as they chase higher returns and cut local bond holdings that yield close to zero.