[Asia Exclusive] John Lee: "Without Solving 'Women's Issues' in ESG, Corporate Growth Cannot Be Sustained"

ESG Becomes a Hot Topic in the Asset Management Industry
Leading the Way in Solving Women's Issues with the Launch of 'The Women Fund'

John Lee, CEO of Meritz Asset Management, stated that women's issues must be resolved for companies to achieve sustainable growth. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] CEO John Lee is one of the figures who has continuously emphasized ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investments by companies even before ESG became a hot topic in the asset management industry.

Amid growing social interest in the environment and governance, the issue that CEO John Lee has considered most important from the start is the ‘women’s issue.’ He stressed that many companies in Korean society cannot sustain growth unless the ‘women’s issue’ is resolved.

CEO John Lee said, "In the United States, many funds have a principle of not investing in companies based on criteria such as racial discrimination, child abuse, and employment of minors," adding, "While we do not have such racial discrimination, discrimination against women is severe. To bring women’s issues, which are in blind spots, to the surface, there must be more funds that adopt this as an investment principle." According to data compiled by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), South Korea’s gender wage gap is 32.5%, ranking last among member countries. This means women earn about 32% less than men. The proportion of female middle managers is also significantly behind the average of 32%, standing at 15.4%.

Based on these thoughts, CEO John Lee launched ‘The Women Fund’ in 2018. This product invests in companies that strive to break the glass ceiling for women or respect diversity and equity. It has posted an 18% return since the beginning of the year, with assets under management reaching 11.3 billion KRW. CEO John Lee said, "We select investment targets through multiple interviews to understand their views on women and whether programs for women, such as maternity support, are well established," adding, "If companies do not move with the flow of change, they will inevitably fall behind and eventually fail."

In the second half of the year, he plans to launch a consumer-focused active equity ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) that concentrates not only on ESG but also on new consumption styles. Unlike index ETFs that track indices, active ETFs allow managers discretionary control over investment selections and weightings in certain areas, aiming to generate excess returns. Having managed only active funds that reflect the fund manager’s philosophy for a long time, he is confident about launching active ETFs where discretionary authority can be exercised. CEO John Lee said, “We will focus on the possibility that people’s consumption styles may change after COVID-19 and introduce consumer-type active ETFs to the market,” adding, “This will not end with just one or two; we will expand investment options by launching various ETFs that well reflect the managers’ capabilities.”

▲John Lee, CEO of Meritz Asset Management, was born in 1958 and graduated from Yeouido High School in Seoul. In 1980, he dropped out of Yonsei University’s Department of Economics and majored in accounting at New York University. In 1991, he worked as a fund manager for 15 years at Scudder Stevens & Clark in the U.S., then moved to Deutsche Asset Management and Lazard Asset Management. In 2014, he became CEO of Meritz Asset Management and has been leading the company for eight years.

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