AL-IN, a magazine for institutional investors in Japan, conducted research into how the coronavirus has affected Japanese asset owners, such as pension funds, financial corporations, and educational institutions. The survey was conducted online May11-19 and generated responses from 78 institutional investors.

The spread of coronavirus caused changes not only to financial markets, but also to the management operations of institutional investors.  As COVID-19 shows no sign of disappearing, the changes seem likely to persist.  So far, Japanese institutional investors have responded in the following ways.

 

Remote work & web conferencing

Nearly 90%, those who “work from home” and “work in shifts”, said they have changed their work style.

More than 70% use web conferencing tools in some capacity.