South Korea’s asset management industry swelled in the third quarter, buoyed by a rally in domestic equities and surging investor demand for exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Samsung Asset Management Co. is poised to become the country’s first asset manager to surpass 100 trillion won ($71 billion) in ETF assets under management (AUM), while boutique firm Timefolio Asset Management Co. nearly doubled its footprint with a tightly focused range of active ETFs.
According to industry data, Samsung retained its lead with 413.9 trillion won in total AUM at the end of September, up 22 trillion won from the previous quarter.
Mirae Asset Global Investments Co., the country’s second-largest manager, expanded by 17.4 trillion won to 242.8 trillion won.
Bank-affiliated rivals KB Asset Management Co. and Shinhan Asset Management Co. followed with 173.3 trillion won and 148.4 trillion won, respectively. Their assets under management increased by 8 trillion won and 8.3 trillion won each from the previous quarter.
Hanwha Asset Management Co., Korea Investment Management Co. and NH-Amundi Asset Management Co. rounded out the top tier, with 118.3 trillion won, 94.4 trillion won and 76.4 trillion won, respectively, in assets under management.
GROWTH POWERED BY ETFs
Much of the growth came from ETFs.
Samsung’s ETF assets reached 95.2 trillion won in the third quarter, up 17% from the previous quarter, powered by fund inflows into domestic equity-linked products such as KODEX 200 Futures Inverse 2X and KODEX 200 Target Weekly Covered Call.
Analysts expect Samsung to cross the 100 trillion won ETF threshold within weeks, a first for a Korean manager.
Mirae Asset also enjoyed strong momentum, with its ETF AUM rising 16.6% on quarter to 82.2 trillion won in the third quarter, driven by US equity strategies, including TIGER S&P 500 and TIGER Nasdaq 100 trackers.
Korea Investment Management saw its ETF assets jump nearly 24% on quarter to 20.3 trillion won, led by demand for its flagship ACE KRX Gold Spot fund.
The benchmark Kospi stock index rose 11.5% in the third quarter from the second quarter.
SMALLER MANAGERS ALSO PERFORMED WELL
Among smaller managers, Timefolio delivered one of the quarter’s standout performances.
Known for its hedge fund pedigree, the Seoul-based firm has built its name in active ETFs.
With just 16 active ETF products, Timefolio’s ETF AUM climbed over 85% to 2.7 trillion won, underscoring the appeal of concentrated, actively managed strategies.
Traditional mutual funds also registered robust returns.
The Daol VIP Star Selection fund, advised by value investor VIP Asset Management Co., returned nearly 36%, triple the Kospi’s gains in the third quarter, by backing about 40 mid-cap growth sector names.
Korea Investment Management’s Korea Investment Tech fund rose 30.4% in the third quarter, thanks to heavy allocations to chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc., as well as semiconductor materials makers such as Wonik QnC Corp. and Tokai Carbon Korea Co., known as TCK.
Overseas equity products also paid off.
Mirae Asset’s China STAR Market fund topped the league with a 51.4% quarterly return, highlighting continued appetite for thematic and cross-border opportunities despite global market volatility.
By Han-Shin Park, Su-Ji Na and Jiyoon Yang
phs@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.
