iM Asset Management Enters ETF Market... Launches 'iM Asset 200 ETF'

Comprehensive asset management company iM Asset Management has entered the ETF market by launching its first exchange-traded fund (ETF) product.

iM Asset Management, a subsidiary of DGB Financial Group, listed the ‘iM Asset 200 ETF’ managed by a renowned quant and index management firm on the Korea Stock Exchange on the 11th.

The iM Asset 200 ETF tracks the 'KOSPI200 Index,' which consists of 200 representative stocks of the South Korean stock market. While direct investment requires a large amount of capital, this ETF allows investors to enjoy the benefits of diversified investment across 200 stocks with a small amount of capital.

The domestic ETF market continues to grow steadily. As of the end of last month, there are 944 products with a total asset size of 183 trillion KRW, accounting for 40% of the total assets of domestic public funds. The asset size surpassed 100 trillion KRW in June 2023 and exceeded 170 trillion KRW last December. Due to strengthened sales procedures following issues related to incomplete sales of investment products, public fund capital is flowing into the ETF market, and ETFs are becoming core products in the retirement pension market, indicating continuous expansion of the related market.

An iM Asset Management official stated, "In the early stages of market entry, we will focus on products that can create long-term stable synergy, such as KOSPI200, rather than theme-based products affected by specific issues," and added, "We are considering expanding to theme-based and bond-type products by leveraging our management capabilities."

Founded in 2000, iM Asset Management is a comprehensive asset management company with strengths in quant and index management and bond investment. It is a 100% subsidiary of DGB Financial Group, the holding company of iM Bank, which converted to a commercial bank last year, and is showing strong growth in the asset management market by providing various investment solutions.