Asterisk Realty & Placement Agency | capital catalyst among global market

Reinstatement of Core and Emergence of Opportunistic

Global pandemic will potentially trigger new trends in the field of cross-border investments among Japanese real estate investors and markets Reinstatement of Core Investments, especially for Japanese overseas investments Emergence of Opportunistic Investments in Japan’s Travel & Hospitality Sectors Monday, April 6th, 2020 With the global public health emergency getting serious globally over the past few weeks, The global stock and bond markets continued to tumble over the past few weeks, US, Europe, and Asia stock markets all showed high volatility and uncertainty. Japan’s largest pension investor GPIF has a large percentage allocation to global stock markets. As the public concerns on health continue to increase, the concerns […]

JAPAN Luxury Resort Seminar : Luxury and Sustainability Resort Development in Japan

– In-depth discussions of perspectives and opportunities of luxury resort development themes in Japan – Explore how the developers and operators can use innovative approaches to create sustainability and promote the growth and sustainable development in the local markets and communities – New concepts and approaches of sustainability proposed by Asterisk/GOYOH and RoomBoss on how to engage luxury travellers to support sustainable tourism through offering ‘the premium “green” options’, which could be used to off-set greenhouse gas emission and invest in renewable energy & infrastructures – Unique approaches to sustainable luxury resort developments by Soneva attracting positive interest and feedback from industry professionals Tuesday, February 25th, 2020 On February 17th, Asterisk and GOYOH held […]

Norinchukin Announcing New Real Estate Strategies focusing on ESG

Rising ESG from Far East – the Japanese giant starts committing on ESG real estate Friday, January 10th, 2020 Leading Japanese Institutional Investor Announcing ESG-Themed Real Estate Investment Products Earlier this week, Norinchukin and NZAM (Norinchukin Zenkyoren Asset Management) announced new development and investment of “ESG-themed J-REIT investment products”. Norinchukin has committed about 100 million USD (10 billion JPY) for the first investments to this program, and will offer this program to institutional and retail investors through both Norinchukin and NZAM platforms. In this program, Norinchukin will invest in J-REITs by utilizing the GRESB as indicators for ESG evaluation, targeting to promote green building concepts […]

Watching The Big Whale – Analyzing GPIF 2018 Annual Report

GPIF revealed its investment activities in FY 2018, showing consistent progress in real estate investments and indicating its directions forward. July 10th, 2019 Last week, GPIF released its 2018 annual report and review of its overseas investment progress in alternative assets and real estate assets over the last year. Total AUM of GPIF is 159 Trillion JPY (1.46 Trillion USD) as of Mar 2019. ACCELERATED INVESTMENT PROGRESS IN ALTERNATIVE ASSETS GPIF Historical Market Value of Alternative Investments 2014 -2019 (Source: GPIF Annual Report Japanese) Over the last year, GPIF’s investments in alternative asset class has more than doubled, reaching 432.7 Bn JPY (3.97 Bn USD) as of March […]

Recent News Updates of GPIF & PAL on Alternative Investments

Monday June 10th, 2019 Recently, Asterisk has seen major Japanese institutional investors taking more actions in the investigation/exploration of opportunities in alternative assets investments in both domestic and overseas markets. On June 7th, PAL (Pension Fund Association for Local Government Officials), the second largest public pension in Japan, announced the selection of fund manager for its new investments products in alternative assets. Asset Management One has been appointed as the fund manager for their overseas real estate investments. On June 10th, GPIF, Japan’s largest public pension fund, announced an RFI (Request for Information) on private debt research, targeting to study a wide range of new investable assets. […]

Recap of Global Real Estate Investment New Themes for Japanese institutional investors

Wednesday, March 13th, 2018 On February 19th, Asterisk held a seminar on global real estate investments new themes in Tokyo, Japan, inviting leading investment management companies globally to share about their sights and trends on new thematic investments in global real estate markets. The event was well received, with invited attendees from Japanese institutional investors. Audience included Japanese pension funds, insurance companies, financial institutions, real estate asset management companies, and developers, etc. For this event, we have invited speakers from Bentall Kennedy, a global market leader in ESG investments; KSL Capital Partners, an unique investor focusing on leisure, travel and wellness investments in key global tourism destinations; and Swiss Life […]

GPIF’s 14.8 trillion JPY loss may splash Japanese public opinions to accept more alternative asset investments

Wednesday, February 6th, 2019 GPIF reported a 14.8 trillion JPY loss on total investments in Q3 2018, with a negative 9.06% in rates of investment returns. GPIF’s quarterly portfolio loss mostly caused by the loss in global equity markets. According to GPIF announcement, between October and December in 2018, global economies had faced uncertainties due to various economical and political factors; global investors have taken more risk-averse actions and made adjustments in their investment strategies due to the market volatility. On the other hand, some investors have started to allocate more capital in safer asset classes, such as long-term US bonds and Japanese bonds. As a result, Japanese yen […]

What We Can Expect Japanese Investors in Global Real Estate in 2019

Wednesday, January 9th, 2019 In 2018, we have observed major Japanese investors taking new actions to extend their footprints in global real estate markets. We are seeing strong motivations by all types of Japanese institutional investors including pension funds, financial institutions, insurance companies, listed REITs, real estate developers for global real estate investments. GPIF, the world’s largest pension fund with AUM of ¥ 165.6 trn JPY (US$ 1.46trn as of end of September 2018), appointed Nomura Asset Management as Gatekeeper and Pantheon and DBJ Asset Management as Fund of Funds (FoF) Managers for its core strategy global infrastructure mandate during the first half of 2018. In September 2018, […]

Japanese Real Estate and Hospitality – Rising Technology & Localization Will Create Revolution in Asset Management

Rising Technology & Localization in Japanese Real Estate and Hospitality Will Create Revolution in Asset Management Tuesday, January 8th, 2019 Across the world, new technologies have been revolutionizing the hospitality industry. In Asia, real estate companies are experiencing growth in technology, especially in the hospitality field. Technology is graduating from being a nice to have feature, and is increasingly expected in hotels, resorts, and serviced residences. While operator oriented re-tech is growing, tech that has been developed to enhance asset value is still scarce. We have observed various new technologies being applied through the tourism and hospitality industries over the past year, including Alibaba’s facial recognition check-in […]

Recap of ESG Real Estate Investment Symposium for Japanese institutional investors

Interactive discussion with Japanese institutional investors showing strong interest for how to utilize ESG in asset management and operation of the properties in the real estate sector Thursday, November 1st, 2018 On October 24th, Asterisk held a seminar on ESG real estate investments in Tokyo, Japan, inviting local and global market leaders with ESG investment expertises to share the insights and trends on ESG in the domestic and global real estate markets. The event was well received, with over 60 attendees from Japanese institutional investors. Audience included Japanese pension funds, insurance companies, financial institutions, real estate asset management companies, and developers, etc. For this event, we have […]

GPIF Sets Two Indices for its ESG Benchmark

Asterisk to hold an ESG real estate investment symposium on October 24th in Tokyo. Thursday, October 4th 2018 Investing with a pursuit of environmental, social, and governance goals in mind is gaining recognition globally. According to a the latest UBS Investor Watch, results of a survey across 10 countries of 5300 investors with over US$1 million of investable assets, 65% of wealth investors believe it is important to create a better planet. With this said, only 39% said they have sustainable investments in their portfolio. The adoption of sustainable investments is expected to grow from 39% to 48% over the next 5 years. Furthermore, investors are expected to increase […]

GPIF’s Announcement for the First Overseas Real Estate Fund of Fund Manager

Friday, September 21st 2018 GPIF- the world’s largest pension fund with AUM 158.6 trillion JPY(1.43 trillion USD), announced its decision to appoint Asset Management One Co., Ltd. as a Gatekeeper, and CBRE Global Investment Partners Limited as their Fund of Funds Manager for their Global Real Estate Mandaｔe (“Core Strategy”). GPIF considers global real markets to divide by US and non US regions last year at their orientation for RFP for alternative fund managers. It is expected that GPIF will announce appointments of multiple FoF managers and gatekeepers for their global real estate investment. The RFP was announced in April of 2017, releasing a plan to recruit […]

Japan ESG Real Estate Investment Symposium on October 24th

Global leaders will explain application of ESG at real estate asset management level to Japanese institutional investors Tuesday, September 4th 2018 Asterisk will hold an event of ESG Real Estate Investment Symposium in Tokyo on October 24th 2018. This event is for Japanese pension funds, insurance companies, financial institutions, real estate asset management companies, and developers. Asterisk has observed considerable increase of interest in ESG real estate investment. Prominent Japanese investors are seriously looking into sustainable investments, and understand the necessity of corporate level social responsibility. We are observing investors seeking long term investments, showing sustainability as an essential criteria. Institutional investors have been looking for information on actual application […]

Integrated Resorts and the Effect on The Japanese Luxury Hospitality Market

How the Integrated Resort Candidate sites are affecting luxury developments across Japan Tuesday, August 14th 2018 Last month, Japanese lawmakers approved allowing licensing for three casinos. Prime Minister Abe is scheduled to tour the country over the following months to promote how casinos will benefit Japan. There is excitement for tourism development by attracting more overseas visitors. Industry analysts also believe casinos will create jobs, and boost regional economies. The location of the casinos is still unclear, however authorities from Hokkaido, Kyushu, Osaka, and Wakayama, among other sites are moving to submit Casino Operator proposals to the central government to be considered as Candidate sites. No one can answer […]

Shichousonren – over USD 100 billion AUM Japanese Public Pension exploring alternative investments with ESG

Tuesday, August 7th 2018 Japanese public pensions accelerating alternative investments. GPIF and Chikyoren are major names, but also other public pensions are proceeding. One example is Shichousonren (The National Federation of Mutual Aid Associations for Municipal Personnel) In April 2018, Shichousonren announced an RFP for infrastructure and private equity. The public pension as of June 2018 has an AUM of JPY 11.6 trillion (approx. USD 105 billion). As of last year, they have three product categories for a real estate RFP- domestic, US, and global (all core strategies). As well as asset diversification in alternative investments, ESG is an emerging topic for these public pensions. In the application for gatekeepers […]

The Next Niseko

Foreign visitors to Hakuba increase by 45% in 2017-2018 Thursday, August 2nd　2018 Foreign ski visitors to Hakuba Valley in 2017-2018 season, the largest ski resort in Japan, surpassed 330,000- an increase by 45% in comparison to last winter season. The total number of visitors is 1,555,000, about 3% higher than last season, with foreigners accounting for 21%. Hakuba Valley is the collective name for the 10 ski resorts in Otari village, Hakuba Village, and Onomachi city. Hakuba Valley has steadily increased their number of visitors showing an increase from 96,900 people from 2012-13 to their record of 330,400 people in 2017-18. The area is popular with foreign guests […]

The Luxury of Experience- Game Changers for the Japanese hospitality and Integrated Resorts market

Caesars Entertainment and Belmond Share How To Offer Unique Experiences To Inbound Tourists Wednesday, July 18th, 2018 On July 11th, in collaboration with PｗC Consulting LLC, Asterisk held its third seminar on luxury residences and integrated resorts in Tokyo, Japan. The event was well received, with over 110 registered. Audience included selected parties from railway companies, travel and leisure groups, hotel management companies, real estate developers, real estate investors, asset management companies, relevant government authorities and ministries, media, luxury service providers, investment funds, construction companies, art galleries, wealth management firms, and institutional investors. Ryuji Sawada, Real Estate and Hospitality Partner from PwC Consulting LLC opened the seminar with […]

Japan’s 2nd largest public pension fund extends its alternative arms to private debt

Tuesday, July 17th 2018 On July 13th, Chikyoren (Pension Fund Association for Local Government Office = PAL) the second largest public pension funds in Japan with AUM of 23 trillion JPY (217 billion USD), announced that they added private debt for its RFP for alternative investment managers. There are now four asset classes in alternative are for Chikyoren`s RFP for fund managers- Infrastructure, Real Estate, Private Equity, and Private Debt. Chikyoren was the first Japanese public pension fund to announce an RFP for alternative investment. Other public pensions and Japanese institutional investors are expected to pursue this approach. Since 2016, Chikyoren has selected the following asset managers for alternative assets […]

GPIF reveals portfolios of alternative investment for the first time

Tuesday, July 10th 2018 On July 6th, GPIF (Government Pension Investment Fund, Japan) has released their portfolio for alternative investment in their investment results for fiscal year of 2017. They have listed their annual rate of return as +6.9%, with asset size at 156.4 trillion JPY(1.48 trillion USD) . On the Japanese summary of their investment results, they list their activities in Alternative Assets. This is the first time GPIF is disclosing details of their asset allocation and investment in Alternative Assets. Infrastructure Their diversified investments have been centered on “core” infrastructure assets that can offer stable income gains. Total Investments are 213 billion JPY (2 billion USD) […]

Forum : Japan’s Top Players in Hospitality, Real Estate, Tourism and Integrated Resort Industries

Tokyo : July 11 2018 Asterisk`s Integrated Resorts and Luxury Hospitality Seminar, Part III Monday, April 23rd 2018 With the government looking to potentially pass the Integrated Resort Bill late June, the topic has been a key theme in the Japanese inbound tourism discussions. We can predict an increase in demand for luxury hotels and ultra- luxury grade residences will be present in the Japan market as Integrated Resorts are developed across Japan. Asterisk Realty will be hosting Part III of our Luxury Hotel Branded Residence and Integrated Resort development seminar to help bridge the gap between overseas parties looking to enter the market and local players looking to capitalize on this new […]

ESG Investment Seminar for Japanese Investors and Real Estate Players

Global Case Studies for new Japanese players stepping into ESG real estate investment Friday, April 13th 2018 We are collaborating with ULI Japan to host a real estate investment seminar on April 24th focused on ESG global case studies presented by market leading asset managers- AXA IM Real Assets and Bentall Kennedy. At this seminar, professionals in the global market will illustrate a wide variety of ESG case studies corresponding to global trends such as urbanisation, changes in demography, and technology changes. Furthermore, it will explore how Japan can catch up and surpass overseas market and how Japanese institutional investors can approach overseas ESG real estate investment. ULI Japan ESG Real Estate Investment […]

GPIF, the Japan’s 1.44 trillion USD pension fund to widen its investable universe

According to GPIF’s latest discussion minutes,GPIF is gradually exploring non-investment grade assets, as well as co-investment to alternative assets with global investors. Wednesday, March 14th 2018 Asterisk summarise some notable topics from GPIF’s latest discussion minutes by its management committee released on March 13th. Topics and summary LPS scheme – co-investment to alternative assets with global investors GPIF is establishing its inhouse platforms for LPS (Limited Partnership) investment to alternative assets, since the Japanese government reformed GPIF Law to enable GPIF to invest to LPS in last September. The minutes mention LPS investments would benefit GPIF by enabling them to co-invest in high quality assets efficiently with […]

GPIF makes another step into global alternative investment – 2nd Announcement for Fund of Fund Manager for Global Infrastructure

Tuesday, February 27th 2018 On February 27th, GPIF- the world’s largest pension fund with AUM 162 trillion JPY(1.44 trillion USD), announced its decision to implement a multi manager strategy through a fund of funds to pursue fund investments and co-investments. They have appointed Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd as their gatekeeper, and Pantheon as their Fund of Funds Manager. This is their second appointment for global infrastructure mandate, their first made on January 12th when they announced the decision to appoint Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Company, Ltd as the gatekeeper, and StepStone Infrastructure & Real Assets as the fund of fund manager for their Global Infrastructure Mandate (“Core Strategy”). This […]

The Rise of ESG Real Estate in Japan

Survey Highlights from ARES in Japan tracks initial movements of ESG interest for real estate investment. Thursday, January 25th 2018 On January 9th, ARES- Association for Real Estate Securitization in Japan, released a news release on their survey conducted between August 25th ~ October 5th, 2017. The survey targeted Japanese pension funds, insurance, trust banks, and other institutional investors, in order to understand the current conditions of real estate investments. <Survey Highlights> Investors that are investing capital into real estate: Pension funds: 58% answered yes, which is 6% increased from 2016. This number has been increasing for 5 consecutive years. Institutional investors: over 90% answered yes. ARES also conducted a special […]

Japanese Demand for Next Level of Wellness Tourism

Tuesday, January 23rd 2018 With the inbound tourist numbers reaching 28 million in 2017, and expected to increase to 32 million in 2018 (JTB Corporation), the number is growing to more than double in this 3 years. Japan is looking successful trends in the global hotel market to see what can be implemented into the Japan hospitality business to accommodate to this increase. One major trend we can observe in the hospitality industry is a focus on healthier lifestyle and wellness. Global awareness in health and wellness is increasingly shaping our current culture. This awareness can be seen in many different fields, including the hospitality industry. While wellness […]

How and Why Japanese Investors are Entering The Global Real Estate Market at This Stage

Wednesday, January 10th 2018 After the Japanese bubble in the 1980’s ~ 1990’s, the presence of “Japanese Buyers” in overseas real estate reminds some of the end of a market cycle. Those watchful of the global real estate trends are wary of their movements into the US – for example, when GPIF took its large step recently through its call for application for new global real estate and infrastructure asset managers. Some warn that these steps by Japanese investors mark the end of the markets peak. In 2018, we expect over 20 billion USD could be deployed to global real estate (direct & indirect), if there are investable and […]

Perspective for 2018 : Global real estate investment from Japanese investors

Wednesday, January 3rd 2018 On December 19th 2017, GPIF “Government Pension Investment Fund” in Japan announced its first real estate investment mandate through a fund of funds real estate mandate-domestic core strategy, and it is expected for them to announce for overseas real estate in 2018. Including GPIF, the four big Japanese public pensions- with total AUM nearly 1.7 trillion USD, as well as large groups of Japanese financial institutions are crystallizing their overseas investments now. Total asset sizes of these groups exceed 10 trillion USD. Not only are financial institutions, but Japanese real estate companies are proceeding to make global investments. Asterisk estimates the investments to overseas real […]

GPIF Annouces First Real Estate Fund-of-Funds Manager

Tuesday, December 19th 2017 On December 19th, GPIF- the world’s largest pension fund with AUM 157 trillion JPY(1.4 trillion USD), has announced Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation as their investment manager to implement alternative investments through a fund of funds real estate mandate (domestic core strategy). GPIF has been planning up to 5% allocation to alternative asset classes, and has made Call for Application of Asset Management for Alternative Assets, which called for fund-of-fund managers for both domestic real estate and overseas real estate. in April 2017. Now that the domestic manager has been announced, we anticipate announcement of the overseas manager to follow soon. After discussing starting […]

Japanese institutional investors shows strong interest for ESG and tax structuring for US real estate investment

Wednesday, November 29th 2017 On November 17th, Asterisk Realty hosted an informative seminar on the growing demand for global diversification by addressing the current market positions and forecasts in U.S real estate investment. Doug Kinney from Bentall Kennedy was invited to speak on Oliver Reichel from PwC spoke on U.S Real Estate taxation. The seminar held in the PwC Tokyo seminar hall, fully reserved by over 60 Japanese institutional investors from public pensions, insurance companies, financial institutions, asset managements, etc. Following GPIF’s and World Bank Group’s announcement in October to form a partnership to conduct joint research on the integration of ESG into fixed income portfolios, other investors- namely […]

Entering the Japanese Hotel Market

How international investors and hospitality operators can get into the locally dominated Japan market Thursday, November 2nd 2017 Different Strategies Necessary for Each Operator The Tokyo tourism market is rapidly growing, with Japan now at the fourth most visited country in the world, falling behind Spain, the United States, and France (The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017, The World Economic Forum). It’s With international visitors amounting to 24 million in 2016, the new target from the government is set for 40 million by 2020. Urban infrastructure projects are being implemented by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, National Government, and other related organizations. Japan is aiming to offer the best possible hospitality and […]

ESG : Polar Star For Japanese Investors in Global Real Estate Investment

GPIF’s strong commitment on ESG initiate Japanese institutional investors interest in ESG global real estate investment Monday, October 16th 2017 GPIF, the Japanese largest pension fund in the world (AUM: 149.2 Trillion JPY / 1.33 Trillion USD) and World Bank Group announced on October 11th, 2017 they have formed a partnership to conduct joint research on the integration of ESG into fixed income portfolios. This is with the ultimate goal of aiming to direct more capital towards sustainable investments, and promote strategies that include environmental, social, and governance criteria in different asset class investment decisions. ESG is a key for GPIF`s real estate investment too. GPIF has been emphasising the […]

Japan’s Sleepless City Concept To Make A New Real Estate Sector

Night Time Economy Movement and Its Effects on the Real Estate and Integrated Resort Market Tuesday, October 10th 2017 Japan is now the fourth most visited country in the world, falling behind Spain, the United States, and France (The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017, The World Economic Forum). It’s tourism industry is growing rapidly, and at a much faster pace than expected. With international visitors amounting to 24 million in 2016, the new target from the government is set for 40 million by 2020. While Japan overflows with ways to keep tourists entertained during the day, in comparison to cities in the US and Europe, its night life […]

Emerging Trends in Japanese Real Estate

Japanese Inbound and Outboud Real Estate Trends Wednesday, September 6th, 2017 Today we will be sharing insights on unique trends in both the inbound and outbound Japanese real estate market. As Chinese capital becomes growingly uncertain, the next key driver for global real estate investments is Japan as large real estate players relaunch their overseas investments. Overseas investors are also looking into investing in Japan as the newly passed bill legalizing Integrated Resorts promises to boost the growing tourism market in Japan. We will explain the current status well as types of opportunities that come with these new trends. Outbound – global diversified investment by Japanese institutional investors […]

Dai-ichi Life Invests Overseas Real Estate After 26 Year Hiatus

Japanese giants accelerating overseas real estate investment Dai-ichi Life Invests Overseas Real Estate After 26 Year Hiatus Thursday, August 17th 2017 Dai-ichi Life, Japan’s 4th largest insurance company with total asset JPY 35.7 trillion (USD 325 billion), has relaunched its overseas real estate investments after 26 years. According to Nikkei News, Dai-ichi Life will be deploying JPY 10 billion (USD 91 million) into European real estate through fund of funds in September 2017, and plan to increase investment size as well as expand their reach into US and Australia in 2018. Nikkei News reported that Dai-ichi Life has chose European investments as their first overseas investment location since their […]

Marriott and MGM – Japanese Business Opportunities with Luxury Hospitality and Integrated Resort

Asterisk Realty collaborates with Baker & McKenzie to hold Part II of their Branded Residence and Integrated Resort Seminar Series Tuesday, July 25th 2017 On July 20th, in collaboration with Baker & McKenzie, Asterisk held its second seminar on luxury hotel residences and integrated resorts in Tokyo, Japan. Audiences were selected parties from railway companies, SWF, Kabuki entertainment groups, real estate developers, hospitality companies, relevant government authorities and ministries, integrated resort operators, FinTechs, media, luxury service providers, investment funds, construction companies, art galleries, wealth management’s, institutional investors, hotel management companies, and asset management companies. Tsukasa Akimoto, Chairman the Cabinet Committee of House of Representative, gave the opening greeting as […]

Luxury Hotel Residence and Integrated Resort development seminar : Part 2

Wednesday, 12th July 2017 Asterisk Realty & Placement Agency is partnering with Baker & McKenzie to hold Part II of our Luxury Hotel Residence and Integrated Resort development seminar on July 20th, – Seminar Information – Japanese real estate developers and authorities are realising the success luxury branded hotel residences have had in overseas markets, and are looking to bring the concept to the Japanese market as well. The purpose of this seminar is to further explain the success luxury hotel branded residences have had overseas through case studies, as well as highlight legal issues and structuring to consider when developing such residences. Furthermore, with the passing […]

Japanese investors show strong appetite for global diversified real estate investment

Over 65 Japanese institutional investors attended Asterisk Realty’s seminar to hear forecasts on the UK, EU, North America, and Australian real estate markets Monday, July 3rd, 2017 On 27th June 2017, Asterisk Realty partnered with Ernst & Young Tax Co (Japan) to co-host an informative seminar on global diversified real estate investment. It covered the current market positions and forecasts in UK, EU, North America, Australia, Japan and other blue ocean fields in real estate investment. Guest speakers commented on their respective markets and provided insights on developments they foresaw. The event was a private seminar for limited invitation only guests, and reached full capacity. Asterisk invited M&G […]

Part 2 – GPIF revealed its first stage of alternative investment

Friday, 28th April 2017 Today, GPIF – Government Pension Investment Fund, Japan (AUM : 144.8 Trillion JPY / 1.24 Trillion USD) has released English version of presentation with the latest status of its guidelines and strategies. Asset Manager Registration System for Alternative Assets <English Press Release> http://www.gpif.go.jp/en/asset_manager/registration_system_alternative_assets.html <English Presentation Slides> http://www.gpif.go.jp/operation/pdf/alternative_assets_koubo_setsumeikai_en.pdf The table of content of the presentation slides are as follow: GPIF Alternative investments and Approach Overview of the Request for Proposal (“RFP”) Roles and Duties of Asset Managers Schedule As stated in our previous newsletter, GPIF focuses on Gatekeepers / Fund of Funds at their first stage. (https://japanplacementagent.com/en/article-2/gpif-revealed-its-first-stage-of-alternative-investment/) At an orientation meeting, GPIF developed an in-depth overview for […]

GPIF revealed its first stage of alternative investment

A long awaited GPIF’s trigger is finally announced Thursday, 26th April 2017 　 At the beginning of this month, GPIF – Government Pension Investment Fund, Japan (AUM : 144.8 Trillion JPY / 1.24 Trillion USD) has announced its endeavor to embark on alternative investments in private equity, infrastructure and real estate and it opened a gate for Japanese institutional investors to reach global investment opportunities. At their orientation on April 17th, the world’s largest pension fund has released a plan to recruit its alternative investments firms widely. They start to evaluate the applications from June 1st, 2017. Seeking for a more efficient and productive manner in its […]

Ouverture : GPIF’s overseas real estate investment

GPIF, The world’s largest pension fund announces their call for application for new global real estate and infrastructure asset managers Tuesday, 11 April 2017 For its order to implement alternative investments into Private Equity, Infrastructure, and Real Estate both in and outside of Japan, Government Pension Investment Fund, Japan (AUM : 144.8 Trillion JPY / 1.2 Trillion USD), the world’s largest pension fund, has announced its call for applications of asset managers. Registration opens on 11th April, 2017, and the review process starts on 1st June, 2017. The criteria for the Asset Manager’s strategy are as follow: Private Equity : Global- Diversified. Infrastructure : Global- Core. Diversified investments […]

Making Luck and Making Relationships – The Japan Casino Investment Race

Partnerships with local entities is key for overseas investors and casino operators, as the Japanese government continues to formulate IR Bill. Tuesday, 4th April 2017 Following the establishment of an Integrated Resort facility development promotion law at the diet session, on March 24th an IR promotion headquarter has been set up to consider the legislative measures for the improvement of IR, consisting of all ministers, with Prime Minister Abe as chief of the cabinet. The government is formulating a bill (a bill stipulating regulations and others related to casinos lifting) that will pass at the end of this year legalizing Integrated Resorts. Whilst this bill is being […]

Osaka City selects Hoshino Resorts to ignite South Central Osaka’s regeneration

New hotel development as the center of Osaka`s next decade developments, opportunistic project in the rapidly growing tourism sector in Japan. Thursday, 16 March 2017 Last week, Amidst Osaka’s movements to attract Japan’s first Integrated Resort as well as World Expo 2025, Osaka City has announced Hoshino Resorts – one of the leading Japanese hotel companies was selected for their hotel development for Shin-Imamiya – South Central Osaka, scheduled to open in March 2022. This new landmark hotel will have up to 600 rooms. The development will be in South Central Osaka, an area that is not high end, but located in Central Osaka, having direct access to […]

Survey: Japanese institutional investors for global real estate investment – 2017 March

Survey from Asterisk’s EU & UK real estate investment seminar highlights what Japanese investors expects from the global real estate investment Monday, 27th March 2017 On March 9th, Asterisk Realty & Placement Agency held its “Real Estate Investment in Europe and UK Seminar” for Japanese institutional investors in Tokyo. It will touch on the current trends in taxation, law, and market aspects of real estate assets investment for Japanese institutional investors, as well as the changes and opportunities created by Brexit. Seminar attendance surpassed 50 from top Japanese institutional investors participated, whose total asset sizes exceeds 5 trillion USD, and the results from the survey conducted from the attendees […]

Japanese institutional investors with total asset of over 10 trillion USD are eyeing global real estate investment

With significant increase of demand, now majority of Japanese investors are considering global real estate investment. Potentially the new capital can be over 10% of the current global real estate asset management market. Monday, 13 March 2017 On March 9th, Asterisk Realty & Placement Agency held its “Real Estate Investment in Europe and UK Seminar” for Japanese institutional investors in Tokyo. Over 50 Japanese institutional investors attended. Our seminars with tailored topics are for invite-only Japanese institutional investors. Since last October, Asterisk has held 4 seminars focused on Global real estate investment- covering US, UK, EU, Australia, Asia and the Japanese hospitality real estate. Over 200 people attended, […]

Strategic investment is FAST PASS for Japanese asset managers for global real estate business

Tuesday, 21st February 2017 In February 2017, news on Japanese companies acquiring the stakes of overseas asset managers or forming strategic investments have come up. SoftBank Group announced that they will acquire New-York based Fortress Investment Group for approximately $3.3 billion. As most of Softbank’s investments lie in technology firms, their decision to invest in the asset management, real estate, and private equity business was an surprising news, and show the widening of real estate and private equity investments for Japanese investors. According to IPE real estate, Mitsubishi Estate has given a $300 million mandate to Hong Kong-based alternative asset management firm CLSA Capital Partners to source core real […]

Asterisk’s seminar for Japanese institutional investors on UK and EU real estate investment

Monday, 13th February 2017 On March 9th, Asterisk Realty & Placement Agency will be holding “Real Estate Investment in UK and Europe” for Japanese institutional investors. Speakers include M&G Real Estate and Ernst & Young. The seminar focuses particularly on UK and EU real estate, catering current trends in taxation, law, and market aspects of real estate assets for Japanese institutional investors. While the outcome of the EU referendum is creating many changes and opportunities, the current trends, forecasts, and insights shared by professionals will be the key to their investment success in UK and EU. This informative seminar is specifically tailored to Japanese investors, who are interested to diversify […]

GPIF appoints “Yamada Hideto”, the legendary expert of overseas real estate

Hideto Yamada as a head of real estate to lead real estate investment of the world’s largest pension fund Wednesday, 1st February 2017 Today, the world’s largest pension fund, the Government Pension Investment Fund (AUM : 1.28 trillion USD), welcomed Hideto Yamada as a head of real estate. Hideto Yamada is recognised as the most successful and experienced Japanese player in the overseas real estate investment and development. He has extensive experience in overseas real estate markets (UK, US and Singapore) for several market cycles and brought his incomparable leadership to the industry. The legendary expert of global real estate Yamada’s most recent position overseas as Managing Director of […]

Osaka heads out for Japan’s casino development, aiming for No.1 in the country

Osaka, the front-runner for Japan’s casino development, revealed economic assessment show enormous prosperity in hospitality and tourism by crafting details of integrated resort plans Tuesday, 24th January 2017 150 years ago, Osaka missed the opportunity to be the Capital of Japan when Tokyo was selected to be the capital when after Kyoto. After Tokyo became the Capital of Japan, Osaka remained the Centre of Commerce up until World War II, and lost this title to Tokyo as well after the war. Osaka is fighting to restore their position as the Centre of Commerce through a major development project – Japan’s First Integrated Resort, and is eagerly using the promotion of […]

Asterisk’s seminar on Australia and Asia real estate investment for Japanese institutional investors

Tuesday, 17th January 2017 On Feb. 7, Asterisk Realty & Placement Agency will be holding “Real Estate Investment in Australia and Asia Seminar” for Japanese institutional investors. Speakers include PwC Japan, Australia and Singapore, M&G Real Estate, Ascendas-Singbridge and Propertylink. Recognising the significant interests from Japanese investors towards global real estate and infrastructure, Asterisk previously held a seminar on US real estate investment last year <https://japanplacementagent.com/en/research/japanese-investors-survey-japanese-institutional-investors-for-global-real-estate-investment/>. This time, Asterisk will cover Australia and Asia for the upcoming seminar. Regionally, developed markets such as Australia has been receiving growing strong interest from investors. The seminar will be specifically focusing on the current trends in taxation, law, and market aspects of real […]

Triggered by the casino bill, Japan’s hospitality and tourism industries are expected to be the country’s core industry

The hospitality and tourism sector is now set for a longer market cycle and a higher growth stage, where there are supersize potentials for hospitality and real estate investments in Japan. Tuesday, 10th January 2017 At the end of 2016, Japan has finalised its legalisation on the so-called, integrated resorts promotion bill. This approval is the way Japan responding to its rapid increase in inbound tourism in recent years, therefore, promoting the development of integrated resort (IR) is to welcome its visitors by offering more entertainment options. Now, it is the time where people can realistically imagine the huge economic impact to Japan better as the hospitality and tourism […]

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Asterisk Realty & Placement Agency Phone: +81-3-3263-9909 Fax:+81-3-3263-9908 Email: info@japanplacementagent.com Address: Kioicho 3-29, Glückheim Suite 2003 Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo For information on real estate please visit: http://www.asteriskrealty.jp/

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Asterisk events aim to bring the best alternative investment products to investors in Japan. Our mission is to assist and aid successful transactions between investors and fund managers. Asterisk is also PEI Media group’s exclusive supporting partner in Japan and help co-host and advise all PEI media’s conference and related business in Japan. PEI Media is one of world’s leading media group on alternative investment and to promote alternative investment in Japan is Asterisk’s main mission. More specific regional events will soon be updated, please check back with us. We appreciate your support and business, Thank You!