[Interview] Kim Youngbin, CEO of Fount: "AI Will Help Investors Generate Steady Profits"

AI Investment Specialist Fount

Recommending Products That Satisfy Customers
Helping Steady Investment Despite Volatility
Aiming for 7-8% Annual Returns

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee]"While existing financial companies have focused on distributing and selling products, I believe Fount is closer to a financial manufacturer."

Kim Young-bin, CEO of Fount Investment Advisory, said, "The reason Fount exists is to discover and produce products tailored to individual investors' needs through AI, helping them generate steady returns." Fount is a specialized AI (artificial intelligence) investment company. Through its self-developed AI, it enables diversified investments across various assets such as global stocks, bonds, and commodities. Beyond investment advisory services, when investing in discretionary products, the AI autonomously performs rebalancing to pursue higher returns.

Rather than unconditionally recommending high-return products, Fount suggests products that fit an individual's situation and preferences. CEO Kim Young-bin said, "Existing sellers tend to recommend products with good returns or momentum as attractive, but some investors might buy these products at high prices, and there is no guarantee of long-term performance. It is important to recommend products that satisfy customers and manage returns so that they do not give up investing despite volatility."

Fount aims to achieve an annual return of 7-8%. For those who experienced a steep bull market last year, this return might not seem significant. However, from a long-term perspective for retirement funds, it is an attractive figure. For example, if an investor earning an annual salary of 50 million KRW and planning to retire in 10 years consistently invested in Fount, a simple calculation shows that they could gain an amount close to one year's salary (40 million KRW) by retirement.

CEO Kim is seeking to transform from an investment discretionary and advisory service to an asset management company. Next year, they plan to launch a PB (private banker) service implemented with AI technology to provide all investors with high-quality asset management services. Typically, receiving premium private banker services at securities firms requires at least 1 billion KRW, making it inaccessible for young professionals or ordinary office workers. Kim said, "Our goal is to enable anyone to receive quality PB services even with 10 million KRW."

To pursue stable performance, Fount recently listed two thematic ETFs directly on the New York Stock Exchange. They expanded their investment fields by being the first in the world to list a subscription economy thematic ETF and a metaverse thematic ETF.

Meanwhile, this year, assets under management (AUM) are expected to exceed 1 trillion KRW for the first time. The first half AUM grew about 470% compared to the first half of last year (152.8 billion KRW), reaching 844 billion KRW. As global index volatility increased in the second half, investors who had engaged in direct investments turned to diversified investments, and the inflow of funds is expected to grow further by year-end. The cumulative number of customers is approaching 300,000 as of last month. CEO Kim stated, "Having successfully completed a Series C investment of 40 billion KRW recently, we will actively invest in AI technology development," adding, "As part of our customer-friendly policy, we will also reform the fee structure (15% of profits)."

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