'IPO Powerhouse' Korea Investment & Securities Surpasses 30 Trillion KRW in Retail Customer Financial Assets

[Asia Economy Reporter Ko Hyung-kwang] Korea Investment & Securities, which is leading the initial public offering (IPO) market, has recently seen a significant increase in the asset size of individual customers, in addition to the subscription boom.

According to industry sources on the 30th, Korea Investment & Securities' individual customer financial product (AM) asset size recently exceeded 30 trillion won. This figure represents an increase of nearly 30% compared to the end of last year. AM assets refer to the net balance of pure financial products subscribed to in the retail division responsible for individual customers, including funds, bonds, issued promissory notes, comprehensive asset management accounts (CMA), and equity-linked securities (ELS).

Korea Investment & Securities has actively conducted asset attraction activities targeting subscription customers. Following SK Biopharm and Kakao Games, it is leading the IPO market as the lead underwriter of Big Hit Entertainment, considered the most anticipated company in the second half of the year.

In the month leading up to the subscription dates for SK Biopharm and Kakao Games, which have completed their listings, a total of 74,000 new customers were attracted, with new customers accounting for 25% of all individual subscription customers. Of the assets of individual customers newly attracted through public offering subscriptions, more than 2.2 trillion won was linked to financial product transactions.

In particular, Korea Investment & Securities is focusing on securing young investors in their 20s and 30s, putting effort into expanding its customer base. In the case of Kakao Games, the number of customers in their 20s and 30s increased by more than 32,000 in August alone, just before the subscription, accounting for 44% of the total new customers.

The innovative finance-based digital asset management service introduced by Korea Investment & Securities this year is also receiving a warm response from young investors. Since its launch in March, more than 1.1 million online financial gift certificates have been sold, with nearly 70% of purchasers in their 20s and 30s. The Minisstock app, which allows easy trading of overseas stocks with small amounts, also had 64% of its users in their 20s and 30s.

Kim Sung-hwan, Vice President of the Individual Customer Group at Korea Investment & Securities, said, "It is most encouraging that young investors living in an ultra-low interest rate era have started trading with securities companies that provide various asset growth opportunities, moving away from banks that can only serve as asset storage." He added, "We will focus on increasing customer assets by providing differentiated investment opportunities linked with IB (investment banking) and PF (project finance) and prioritizing the improvement of profitability."

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