The fiasco at AIJ Investment Advisors Co. is not only threatening the retirement prospects of more than 880,000 people, it is also raising fears that more corporate pension money is being misinvested.
AIJ's loss may force its client companies to slash pension benefits, raise premiums or, if worst comes to worst, collapse. Also, the possibility of veiled losses at other asset management firms during the economic slump cannot be ruled out because of a lack of proper scrutiny, experts said.
"The problem is not only about AIJ," said Koichi Haji, chief economist at NLI Research Institute. He said that the case involves numerous pension funds and that other asset managers may also have racked up massive losses.