In the third quarter of this year, the National Pension Service adopted an aggressive investment strategy in major technology stocks during the strong U.S. stock market rally, resulting in significant valuation gains. In particular, thanks to the sharp rise in the share prices of big tech companies such as Nvidia, Apple, and Alphabet, the valuation of the National Pension Service's U.S. stock portfolio increased by approximately 18.7 trillion won in just three months.

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According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on November 6, the National Pension Service was invested in 552 U.S.-listed stocks as of the end of September. This is an increase of 3.4% (18 stocks) compared to the end of June (534 stocks). The number of shares held also rose by about 6.4%, from 808.05 million shares to 859.53 million shares.

During the same period, the face value of U.S. stocks held by the National Pension Service increased by 11.2% ($12.94 billion, or approximately 18.7 trillion won), from $115.83 billion (about 167 trillion won) to $128.77 billion (about 186 trillion won).

The main driver behind this valuation increase was Nvidia, the leading artificial intelligence (AI) stock, along with other major technology stocks.

The National Pension Service's valuation of Nvidia shares surged by $1.89363 billion (25.8%) from $7.3521 billion at the end of June to $9.24574 billion at the end of September. During this period, the National Pension Service increased its Nvidia share holdings by 6.5%, from 46.54 million shares to 49.55 million shares.

Then, the valuation of Apple shares increased from $5.91177 billion to $7.56937 billion, a rise of $1.65761 billion (28.0%), and the number of shares held also increased by about 3.2%.

Although the number of shares held in Alphabet, Google's parent company, and Tesla increased by only 3.1% and 3.0%, respectively, the surge in their share prices led to a sharp rise in their valuations by 42.3% and 44.2%, respectively.

In addition, the National Pension Service increased its holdings in Broadcom, Microsoft, Intel, and Lam Research by 1.5% to 4.6%, and the valuations of these stocks rose by at least 8.9% and up to 52.1%.

In some stocks, valuations declined due to falling share prices, but the National Pension Service instead took this as an opportunity to buy at lower prices. For example, the number of Netflix shares held by the National Pension Service increased by 3.1% during the third quarter, but its valuation decreased by 7.7%, from $1.20452 billion to $1.11184 billion, due to the drop in share price.

The National Pension Service also increased its holdings by 1.3% to 2.7% in other stocks that showed weakness in the third quarter, such as Salesforce, Costco, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Walt Disney, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. However, in some stocks such as American Express (-99.9%) and Domino's Pizza (-42.5%), valuations dropped significantly.

Stocks that were newly added to or re-included in the third-quarter portfolio also drew attention. Major U.S. airlines such as Delta Air Lines and United Airlines Holdings, electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian, and casino operator Las Vegas Sands Group were once again included in the National Pension Service's list of holdings. Shares of conservative-leaning media companies, such as News Corp, the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, and Fox Corp, the parent company of Fox News, were also newly acquired. In addition, the number of shares held in U.S. defense companies such as Lockheed Martin, RTX, and L3Harris was increased again.