Koramco Asset Management Sets 20 Billion KRW High-Yield Fund

Funding Completed for Koramco High Yield 41, 42, and 43 Bonds in One Month
Mixed Bonds and IPOs... Pursuing High Stability with Additional Gains

Koramco Asset Management has rapidly diversified its portfolio by completing the setup of three high-yield funds in the past month. It appears to be strengthening its securities division, centered around the recently expanded Corporate Investment Headquarters.

According to the financial investment industry on the 20th, Koramco Asset Management established the "Koramco High Yield General Private Securities Investment Trust No. 43 (Koramco High Yield No. 43)." The fund invests in bonds rated BBB+ or higher, aiming for stable yet relatively high returns. It is a product that seeks additional returns by participating in the preferential allocation of public offering stocks at a certain ratio.

Koramco High Yield No. 43 completed fundraising about 20 days after setting up its predecessors, Koramco Income Plus No. 41 and Koramco Monthly Dividend High Yield No. 42. Koramco raised approximately 20 billion KRW in new funds through these three funds. A key factor was that a similar fund established in November last year recorded an annualized return approaching 14% in less than a year.

The securities division of Koramco Asset Management has focused on real estate-based multi-asset investments. This is because it has a business structure and expertise specialized in real estate compared to other asset managers. The products mainly consisted of those generating stable dividend income through REITs rather than pure stocks and bonds, and gaining additional returns from public offerings and mezzanine investments. Through this, Koramco is evaluated to have secured a central position in the listed REITs market.

In addition to the existing investment policy, Koramco Asset Management expanded and reorganized the Corporate Investment Headquarters within the securities division in June to increase the proportion of corporate investment products. It swiftly expanded into securities-type alternative investments by recruiting Head Seo Deok-sik, who previously worked at the National Pension Service Fund Management Headquarters, Samsung Asset Management, and Focus Asset Management. Furthermore, it is actively marketing by trying various methods such as monthly dividend types and open-ended funds during product design and simultaneously conducting retail recruitment at sales channels, unlike before.

As of the end of last year, Koramco Asset Management's securities division manages assets under management (AUM) of approximately 750 billion KRW. These are real estate-based multi-asset assets, and starting with the three high-yield funds, it plans to launch corporate investment products with various strategies in the future. The open-ended fund Koramco Income Plus No. 41 is expected to continue expanding as existing investors have pledged additional contributions of around 5 billion KRW.

Koramco Asset Management plans to expand its product lineup investing in domestic listed REITs and launch new products investing in Asian listed REITs.

A Koramco Asset Management official said, "We will demonstrate capturing both stability and profitability by combining Koramco's traditional strength in real estate-based investments with general corporate investments," and added, "We will contribute to investors achieving their investment goals through various investment destinations and strategies, including stocks and bonds, listed and unlisted companies, and mezzanine investments."