[2023 Asia Fund Awards] Professor Jeong Sunseop "Innovation Efforts by Asset Management and Sales Firms in a Challenging Market"

Professor Jeong Sunseop of Seoul National University Law School Review Comments

Now in its 14th year, the 'Asia Fund Awards' serves as a compass for financial investment companies active in the fund market and investors seeking new investment opportunities. In particular, I believe the efforts of fund market participants, including asset managers and distributors, for innovation and development shone even brighter amid the challenging market conditions over the past year.

This year, the Asia Economy Fund Award was presented to Mirae Asset Global Investments. Mirae Asset received high marks for excellence in four categories?domestic equity, domestic bonds, overseas equity, and overseas bonds?based on assets under management and returns, with especially outstanding performance in cash flow.

The Best Asset Manager in the TDF (Target Date Fund, mixed equity) category was jointly awarded to KB Asset Management and Shinhan Asset Management. Both ranked highly in terms of fund size and average balance, and their stable performance last year was taken into consideration. Samsung Asset Management won the Best Asset Manager in the ETF category. It introduced the most new ETFs last year and received high scores for product diversity and stability. Mirae Asset Global Investments was selected as the Best Asset Manager in the Retirement Pension category, ranking first in the industry last year in terms of fund size, average balance, and number of funds.

Jung Soon-seop, Chief Judge (Professor at Seoul National University School of Law)

NH Nonghyup REITs Management was chosen as the Best Asset Manager in the REITs category. NH Nonghyup REITs Management received favorable evaluations for achieving the highest dividend yield among REITs with assets under management exceeding 100 billion KRW.

Korea Investment Management won the Best Asset Manager in the Overseas Fund category. Its Korea Investment Vietnam Growth Fund and Global Electric Vehicle & Battery Fund showed outstanding performance.

For Best Distributors, companies with strong consumer contact and a focus on consumer protection were selected, including Samsung Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, KB Securities, and NH Investment & Securities. Samsung Securities obtained the Consumer-Centered Management certification last year, evaluated by the Korea Consumer Agency and overseen by the Fair Trade Commission. Korea Investment & Securities was the first domestic securities firm to introduce fractional trading of overseas stock ETFs, enhancing consumer convenience. KB Securities attracted attention by offering a diverse product lineup reflecting customer demands. NH Investment & Securities received high praise for efforts to create a sound investment environment, such as providing monthly solutions to assist customers with asset management amid rapidly changing market conditions.