This article appears courtesy of Institutional Investor
Source: Institutional Investor Daily-Hedge Funds
The Japanese have a reputation for being conservative investors, but a new report from Greenwich Associates reveals that the Land of the Rising Sun boasts twice the percentage of institutional investors that plunk down money in hedge funds than their U.S. counterparts, and more than five times the number of their British peers. The report -- which says 55% of Japanese institutions use hedge funds, compared with 28% in the U.S. and 10% in the U.K. -- also found that, among those institutions that invest in hedge funds, allocations have skyrocketed from 4% in 2003 to 13% in 2005, and that percentage is poised to jump even higher. "With funding pressures continuing to mount among Japanese pensions," the report states, "two-thirds of plan sponsors are planning to make 'significant" changes to their asset allocations."