Japan’s ¥10 trillion ($87 billion) innovation fund designed to support cutting edge research is boosting its focus on alternative investments as it nears its launch.
"I can’t say a specific number,” said chief investment officer Masakazu Kita in an interview Wednesday. "But alternative assets should be of a certain amount, it should have a sizable weighting.”
While Kita is still helping put together the investment team, former HarbourVest Partners managing director Tadasu Matsuo has already been hired to serve as gatekeeper for the fund’s alternative assets, an indication of the priority Kita places on diversifying investments from the get-go.