Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co., with more than ¥30 trillion in assets, will parcel out more money to hedge funds to safeguard returns as financial markets falter, a senior company official said.
Japan's second-largest life insurer currently invests in more than 100 hedge funds as well as funds of hedge funds, Yuji Hirai, manager of the firm's structured and alternative investment department, said in Tokyo. He declined to provide specific targets for hedge fund allocations.
"Our goal is to increase our allocation to hedge funds," said Hirai, 40. "We're in a difficult market, no doubt, but for hedge funds chasing absolute returns, this is the time" for them to prove they can outperform.