Hanwha Asset Management ETF Division Poised to Surpass NH-Amundi This Year... Net Asset Difference Narrowed to 100 Billion Won Range

Hanwha Transforms After Organizational Restructuring
CEO Han Doo-hee Leads Company-wide Support
Relief Pitcher, Director Kim Seong-hoon Deployed
'Fast Trial' Strategy... 11 New ETFs Listed

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Hanwha Asset Management's Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) business division has completely transformed in just seven months. It has closed the gap with the 6th place in net asset size to the level of 100 billion KRW, closely trailing behind. The company is aiming to overtake the ranking within the year. The strategy of Kim Seong-hoon, head of the ETF business division, who focused proactively on launching ETF products, has paid off.

According to the Korea Financial Investment Association on the 2nd, as of the 29th of last month, Hanwha Asset Management's ETF net assets stood at 1.6532 trillion KRW, narrowing the gap to 6th place NH-Amundi (1.7897 trillion KRW) to 136.5 billion KRW.

At the end of last year, the difference in ETF net assets between Hanwha Asset Management and NH-Amundi Asset Management was 536 billion KRW. In just seven months, it has shrunk to about one-quarter of that amount.

Hanwha Asset Management changed to a leadership structure under CEO Han Doo-hee in July last year and extensively reorganized its ETF division in the second half of the year. In September last year, the ETF team was elevated to a business division and three subordinate teams were established: △ETF Management Team △ETF Consulting Team △ETF Product Team.

Within Hanwha Asset Management, there are three management headquarters (ETF, Global Equity, Global Bonds), but the only division that has established product, consulting, and management teams is the ETF division. This means it is receiving company-wide support.

The head of the division is Director Kim Seong-hoon. Industry consensus holds that Kim played a major role in the transformation. Director Kim is an ETF expert who started his career at Samsung (Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance), and has worked at Mirae Asset Securities, Hanwha Asset Management's Quantitative Management Team, and as head of Hanwha Asset Management's ETF Strategy Team. He is recognized for his comprehensive knowledge of the market, from ETF product development to marketing. This is why he was selected internally as a key player.

The strategy proved successful. Since the change to Director Kim's leadership, Hanwha Asset Management has launched 11 new ETFs in the past seven months this year. In particular, it aggressively introduced Korea's 'first-ever' thematic ETFs such as global rare earth companies, unicorn investment companies, and aerospace & UAM, targeting the market.

An asset management industry official said, "In a situation where public funds are centered around ETFs, if innovative ETF products attract investors' attention, rankings can be reversed. Investors look at the products rather than the brand, so asset managers have no choice but to compete with product ideas."