Prominent Japanese pension fund switches bond strategy

The Pension Fund of JTB Corp., a Y150 billion ($1.25 billion) fund for the Japan Travel Bureau, the nation’s gigantic travel agency, has just switched some of its bond fund managers’ benchmark from the Salomon Smith Barney World Government Bond Index  to Lehman Brother’s Global Aggregate Index. In addition, JTB, which has recently restructured its entire investment strategy, plans to replace several of its managers, says Noboru Yamaguchi, managing director and CIO.