Korea Investment Management announced on the 17th that it has restructured the fee system for certain Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) products as part of a fundamental shift in its ETF fee policy. The company decided on the fee reduction from the perspective of an 'investment basic right,' aiming to go beyond fee competition and ensure long-term asset growth for investors.
The fee reduction was implemented to establish a cost structure that provides tangible benefits to investors. Korea Investment Management had previously maintained a cautious stance on lowering fees, concerned about the potential long-term negative impact on product quality. However, based on verified long-term quality maintenance and stable management of its ETF products, the company recently decided to lower fees, believing this would allow it to deliver greater benefits to investors.
As a representative measure, the fees for the ACE 200 ETF and ACE 200TR ETF were reduced to the lowest level in the domestic market. The total fees for these ETFs were lowered from 0.09% and 0.03% to 0.017% and 0.01%, respectively. This move aims to resolve the 'reverse discrimination structure' in which investors had to pay higher fees even when investing in leading domestic indices. The decision is based on the belief that, just as anyone can easily invest in a US S&P500 ETF, investors should be able to invest in a KOSPI200 ETF under the same conditions.
The company also adjusted the fees for key ETFs included in domestic investors' portfolios, such as the ACE US S&P500 ETF and ACE US Nasdaq100 ETF, which invest in global core assets, as well as the ACE KRX Gold Spot ETF, which invests in gold, a representative safe asset. The total fees for these three ETFs were reduced from 0.07%, 0.07%, and 0.50% to 0.0047%, 0.0062%, and 0.19%, respectively. The fee for the ACE S&P500 ETF is now the lowest in the industry, reflecting the company's intention to proactively offer competitive fees to domestic investors and expand investment opportunities.
Lee Sangwon, Head of Product Strategy at Korea Investment Management, stated, "The fee reduction is a decision made entirely to enhance investor benefits rather than to pursue company profits," adding, "Through the revision of our fee policy, we aim to establish new investment standards in the domestic ETF market."
He continued, "This decision was implemented to put into practice our investor-centric philosophy," and added, "We will continue to uphold our ETF management philosophy by exploring ways to make a tangible contribution to the long-term asset growth of our investors."
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