[2020 Asia Fund Awards] All-Rounder Including Bond, Real Estate, and Pension Types

Daesang Korea Investment Trust Management

Hongrae Cho, CEO of Korea Investment Management

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] The Grand Prize at the 11th Asia Fund Awards was awarded to Korea Investment Trust Management. Korea Investment Trust Management earned balanced scores across various sectors, including bond funds, real estate funds, and pension funds.

The total assets under management for bond funds reached approximately KRW 13.4 trillion as of the end of last year, an increase of about KRW 1.3 trillion compared to 2018. Notably, the 'Korea Investment Credit Focus Securities Investment Trust (Bond)', which saw an increase of KRW 427.6 billion in assets last year, is Korea Investment Trust Management's flagship domestic bond fund that has been managed for 11 years since 2008.

This fund selectively invests in undervalued high-quality domestic credit bonds to pursue stable performance even amid interest rate fluctuations. Based on a proprietary credit analysis system, it evaluates individual companies' growth potential, profitability, and financial stability. Credit specialists and dedicated analysts collaborate to exchange investment opinions and decide on inclusion.

In real estate funds, Korea Investment Trust Management continued its aggressive approach. Since launching the industry's first publicly offered real estate fund investing in Japanese real estate, 'Korea Investment Tokyo Office Real Estate Investment Trust' in 2017, it has annually introduced funds investing in overseas real estate, continuously providing excellent investment products to the market.

Last year, it consecutively launched publicly offered real estate funds investing in advanced countries such as the United States and Europe. As public funds, the products were designed with a focus on stability, investing in office buildings located in major cities of developed countries rather than high-risk, high-return development projects with high uncertainty. Additionally, investments were made in buildings with tenants of high creditworthiness, such as global corporations or government agencies, and in properties with low rent delinquency risk or low vacancy rates to enhance stability. The assets under management for Korea Investment Trust Management's real estate funds increased from about KRW 93 billion at the end of 2017 to approximately KRW 705.5 billion at the end of last year, making it the third largest among domestic asset management companies.

Meaningful achievements were also seen in pension funds. The 'Korea Investment TDF Alaseo Fund' series, a target-date fund (TDF) by Korea Investment Trust Management, surpassed KRW 300 billion in assets under management as of the end of November last year, ranking third in the industry. The 'Alaseo Fund' series strategically manages risk by automatically investing in over 20 domestic and international funds without management instructions once the expected retirement date is selected.

The 'Alaseo Fund' series was developed in collaboration with the U.S. firm T. Rowe Price. As of 2018, T. Rowe Price is a large asset management company with 607 investment professionals managing approximately USD 962.3 billion (about KRW 1,131 trillion) in assets. Among these, TDF assets amount to about USD 142.3 billion (approximately KRW 167 trillion), making it the third largest in the U.S. The top three asset managers in the U.S. TDF market hold about 70% market share.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.