Korea Investment Trust Management announced on the 4th that the Korea Investment Global Electric Vehicle & Battery Fund has undergone a renewal. The fund's name was changed, additional co-managers were introduced to enhance management expertise, and the redemption cycle was shortened by more than half to improve investor convenience.
According to FnGuide, the Korea Investment Global Electric Vehicle & Battery Fund is a mega fund with net assets under management of 1.2748 trillion KRW, making it the largest equity public offering fund (excluding exchange-traded funds (ETFs)) managed by Korea Investment Trust Management.
The new name of the Korea Investment Global Electric Vehicle & Battery Fund is the "Korea Investment Global Electric Vehicle & Autonomous Driving" Fund. Through the renewal, the fund increased its allocation to core autonomous driving companies while reducing its exposure to hydrogen and car-sharing sectors. Hwang Woo-taek, head of the Global Equity Management Department at Korea Investment Trust Management and the lead portfolio manager of the fund, stated, “Since its launch in 2017, the Korea Investment Global Electric Vehicle & Autonomous Driving Fund has continuously rebalanced or renewed its assets according to trends in the electric vehicle industry. We decided to renew the fund to strengthen the autonomous driving sector, where a new landscape has emerged due to technological advances and regulatory improvements in the U.S. market.”
According to the official website of Korea Investment Trust Management, as of the 21st, the major holdings of the Korea Investment Global Electric Vehicle & Autonomous Driving Fund (A-e class basis) include ▲Tesla (9.65%) ▲BYD (7.50%) ▲CATL (5.50%) ▲NVIDIA (5.38%) ▲Xiaopeng (5.31%) ▲Alphabet (3.53%). Going forward, the fund will also include some new companies related to autonomous driving alongside major autonomous driving firms.
This renewal also strengthened management capabilities by adding two new co-managers. Co-manager Kim Won-jae is an expert in active management and secondary batteries, proposing qualitative management strategies based on fundamentals and macro factors. Co-manager Jung Yoo-tae is a quant management and foreign exchange (FX) expert, proposing data-driven quantitative management strategies. The data and opinions derived by each expert are collected and the final decision is executed by Hwang, the electric vehicle expert and chief portfolio manager.
The Korea Investment Global Electric Vehicle & Autonomous Driving Fund also significantly shortened its redemption cycle. Previously, redemption requests submitted before 5 p.m. were applied at the net asset value of 4 business days later, with redemption proceeds paid on the 9th business day. However, with this change, the net asset value of 3 business days later will be applied, and redemption proceeds will be paid on the 4th business day. This shortens the redemption period by a full 5 business days. This decision was made to allow investors to receive redemption proceeds at a level comparable to domestic general funds, thereby enhancing redemption convenience and providing an improved liquidity environment.
Hwang explained, “After Trump's election, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was expected to be reduced or repealed, shrinking the manufacturing-based electric vehicle industry's position and changing the industry's landscape. The future growth engine has expanded around autonomous driving-related technologies, a field dominated by U.S. companies.”
He added, “The Korea Investment Global Electric Vehicle & Autonomous Driving Fund reflects these industry trends. We will strive to improve customer satisfaction through more specialized research and management in the future.”
Meanwhile, the Korea Investment Global Electric Vehicle & Autonomous Driving Fund mentioned in this article is a performance dividend-type product, and past performance does not guarantee future results. It should also be noted that principal loss may occur depending on management outcomes.
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