Hyunseung Lee, CEO of KB Asset Management, "Buying Hope Beyond the Recession"

No Two Consecutive Years of Stock Index Decline Since 2000
Proactive Preparation for China Reopening with Xi Jinping's Third Term
Systematic Risk Management Amid Increased Volatility

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] On the 2nd, Lee Hyun-seung, CEO of KB Asset Management, emphasized in his New Year's address to employees to create "2023, a year of buying hope beyond the recession." Although the real economy is entering a full-fledged recession, he urged proactive responses considering the leading nature of the stock market.

Since 2000, the domestic stock market has experienced various crises such as the domestic credit card crisis and the global financial crisis, but the composite stock price index has never fallen for two consecutive years compared to the beginning of the year. Even in 2008, when the decline was the largest (-40.73%) due to the Lehman Brothers incident, the following year saw a strong rebound of nearly 50%, recovering most of the losses.

KB Asset Management's Equity Management Headquarters believes that since Korea's GDP growth rate was a favorable 2.5% last year despite the stock market falling by 25%, the possibility of a recession this year has already been sufficiently reflected in the market.

Furthermore, in overseas markets, attention should be paid to emerging markets rather than developed countries, especially China, where Xi Jinping's third term has begun and a full-scale reopening (resumption of economic activities) is imminent.

The four key directions emphasized by CEO Lee in his New Year's address to employees are as follows. He stressed "strengthening solution businesses based on data competitiveness." KB Asset Management considers the direct indexing service, scheduled to be introduced to individual customers in the first half of the year, and institution-specific solution offerings as new growth engines.

CEO Lee also presented the goal of "external growth through improving operating returns in securities and alternative sectors." KB Asset Management plans to further narrow the gap with top companies in the Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) and Target Date Fund (TDF) markets, which were its focus last year, and respond swiftly to diverse customer investment demands through strategic alliances with global asset managers.

He also mentioned building a digital marketing and customer-centric agile organization. CEO Lee said, "As information asymmetry has significantly decreased through various investment information channels such as YouTube, we must organize an organization that meets the standards of smart investors and enhance digital marketing capabilities," adding, "We need to develop expertise and think and act from the customer's perspective."

He also called for strengthening a company-wide response system to increased volatility. CEO Lee urged, "We will respond to the market through systematic risk analysis in areas of Market, Legal, Credit, and Operation, where risks surrounding the financial market have increased."

Meanwhile, KB Asset Management surpassed 128 trillion won in assets under management (AUM) last year through balanced growth in the securities market and alternative asset market, and the alternative investment sector achieved remarkable annual performance exceeding 70%.