Mirae Asset Global X Acquires Australian Asset Manager ETF Securities

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Mirae Asset Global Investments announced on the 15th that it has acquired Australian ETF manager ‘ETF Securities.’ ETF Securities is a specialized ETF management company leading the Australian ETF market with innovative thematic products, aligning closely with the direction of Mirae Asset ETFs. It is expected to strengthen the ETF business in the high-growth Australian ETF market.

‘Global X’ also participated in the acquisition of ETF Securities. This is the first time a foreign ETF management subsidiary of a domestic asset manager has participated in acquiring an overseas ETF manager. Global X is Mirae Asset Global Investments’ U.S. ETF management subsidiary, with assets under management (AUM) exceeding 50 trillion KRW. By participating in the acquisition of ETF Securities, Mirae Asset has transformed into a global financial group expanding its global network through overseas corporate earnings.

Mirae Asset plans to expand its investment in the Australian market through this acquisition. In 2013, Mirae Asset purchased the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney for over 380 billion KRW, and in 2016, established Mirae Asset Global Investments Australia. Through this acquisition, Mirae Asset aims to simultaneously target the rapidly growing Australian pension and ETF markets.

According to global ETF research firm ETFGI, as of the end of April 2022, the Australian ETF market size was approximately 119 trillion KRW, which is more than 1.6 times the size of the Korean ETF market at 74 trillion KRW during the same period, ranking third in the Asia-Pacific region after Japan and China. ETF Securities, the company being acquired, is the 7th largest ETF manager in Australia, managing 21 ETFs with about 4.24 trillion KRW in assets.

Founded in 2002, ETF Securities offers commodity ETFs managed with physical assets. Its flagship product, ‘ETFS Physical Gold (GOLD),’ was the world’s first physically backed gold ETF listed in March 2003, with net assets reaching 2.36 trillion KRW. Starting with gold physical products, ETF Securities has also listed physical ETFs for platinum, silver, and palladium, and offers a product investing in a basket of four precious metals?gold, palladium, silver, and platinum?operating the largest precious metals ETF platform in Australia.

ETF Securities also manages various innovative growth thematic ETFs. The ‘ETFS ROBO Global Robotics and Automation ETF (ROBO),’ listed in September 2017, invests in global companies applying innovative technologies such as robotics, automation, and AI to manufacturing, logistics, and security industries, with net assets of 200 billion KRW. In August 2018, it listed the ‘ETFS Battery Tech & Lithium ETF (ACDC),’ which invests in companies related to secondary batteries and metal mining companies used in lithium battery manufacturing, with net assets exceeding 450 billion KRW.

Kim Young-hwan, Vice President and Head of Global Innovation Division at Mirae Asset Global Investments, said, “The Australian ETF market is rapidly growing as funds flow into ETFs from the world’s fourth-largest Australian pension market. ETF Securities shares investment philosophies with Mirae Asset and Global X, and we expect it to establish a unique position leading the Australian ETF market.”

Meanwhile, Mirae Asset’s ETF history began in 2006 with the listing of three TIGER ETFs on the Korea Exchange. In 2011, it became the first domestic asset manager to list ETFs on the Hong Kong Exchange and announced the global expansion of Korean ETFs by acquiring Canada’s ‘Horizons ETFs’ the same year. In 2018, Mirae Asset acquired ‘Global X,’ an ETF manager recognized as a rising star in the U.S. market, which accounts for about 70% of the global ETF market. At the time of acquisition, Global X’s AUM was around 10 trillion KRW, but as of the end of May 2022, it has grown to over 50 trillion KRW.

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