Unusual idealist defies his peers in Japan's US$870b pension fund world

Tokyo

IN the US$870 billion world of Japan Inc employee pension funds, he's known as the unusual idealist who's long danced to his own tune.

Hiroichi Yagi filled the Secom Corporate Pension Fund with stocks when his peers hid in bonds, considering it his duty to support Japanese equities. He embraced environmental, social and governance investing as a way to reduce volatility. And he signed Japan's stewardship code for institutional investors right at the start, making Secom the only corporate pension fund outside of financial firms to accept the voluntary standards.