Korea Investment Management announced on September 9 that it has maintained its industry-leading position in the public pension fund sector, recording over 1 trillion won in net inflows since the beginning of the year.
According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, as of September 5, the total assets under management for Korea Investment Management's public pension funds, combining individual pension and retirement pension funds, reached 6.3741 trillion won. This represents a net increase of 1.0347 trillion won so far this year. Among domestic asset management companies operating public pension funds, this marks one of the largest increases. In August alone, the company saw a net inflow of 121.6 billion won.
Korea Investment Management analyzed that this achievement was not due to a one-off inflow into a single product, but rather the result of a well-balanced performance across a diverse lineup of fund strategies, earning investors' trust. The company reported balanced inflows across all sectors, including bond, asset allocation, and global equity funds.
Representative funds include the Korea Investment Credit Focus ESG Fund, Korea Investment TDF Auto ETF Focus Fund, Korea Investment MySuper Auto Fund, Korea Investment OCIO Auto Fund, Korea Investment US Long-Term Treasury Fund, and Korea Investment Goldman Sachs US Tech Fund. The entire fund lineup has grown in a balanced manner, without concentration in any particular product type.
The Korea Investment Goldman Sachs US Tech Fund, launched on August 29, attracted 216 billion won in capital on its first day. As of the market close on September 8, its assets under management reached 236.5 billion won. About 70 billion won, or 30% of the total, flowed into the pension class. The fund employs a thematic strategy focused on US technology stocks, diversifying across six key innovation sectors: semiconductors and hardware, digital infrastructure, cloud computing, cybersecurity, fintech, and e-commerce. More than 60% of the fund's assets are invested in US tech companies.
Among domestic bond funds, the Korea Investment Credit Focus ESG Fund Series, with a 16-year track record, continues to deliver steady returns and attract the interest of pension investors. This fund focuses on high-quality domestic credit bonds rated A- or higher. It pursues both stability and profitability with a medium-term duration of approximately 1.5 to 2 years. Additional strengths include liquidity management using government and public bonds, and a strategy of identifying undervalued bonds through rigorous security analysis.
The Korea Investment TDF Auto ETF Focus Fund Series has also contributed to the increase in public pension fund assets. It was designed based on a proprietary glide path and long-term capital market assumptions (LTCMA) developed by Korea Investment Management. With a low turnover rate and a low-risk, low-cost structure, the fund focuses on long-term returns. Since inception, the cumulative return for the Korea Investment TDF Auto ETF Focus 2060 Fund (C-Pe Class) has reached 66.41%, with one-year and six-month returns of 19.72% and 7.80%, respectively. Since the beginning of the year, the combined inflow into the pension class for the entire series has reached 208 billion won.
Oh Wonseok, Executive Director of the Pension Business Division at Korea Investment Management, stated, "Stable profitability and operational capability are most important in pension investing," adding, "Our public pension funds strive to deliver real value to investors through client-centered product offerings and operational performance."
He continued, "As the importance of retirement preparation grows, we hope our fund lineup will become a reliable alternative among pension investment options."
Fund products are performance-based and past returns do not guarantee future results. Principal losses may occur depending on fund performance.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
