[2024 Asia Fund Awards] Samsung Asset Management Leads Industry with '320 Trillion KRW Scale'... Reestablishing Dominance through OCIO

Grand Prize

Seobonggyun, CEO of Samsung Asset Management

At the 15th annual '2024 Asia Fund Awards,' Samsung Asset Management, the number one asset management company in South Korea, was selected as the best asset management company of the year.

Samsung Asset Management, which won the 'Grand Prize,' is the largest asset management company in South Korea with assets under management exceeding 300 trillion KRW. Since becoming the first in the domestic asset management industry to surpass 100 trillion KRW in assets under management in 2011, it reached 200 trillion KRW in 2015 and 300 trillion KRW in 2021. As of the 20th of this month, it is managing approximately 333 trillion KRW. The gap with the second place company is as large as 144 trillion KRW. Samsung Asset Management has contributed to the growth of assets for individual and institutional investors by introducing financial products and service systems that did not exist in the domestic market, such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), target date funds (TDFs), and outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) services, based on its strengths in managing traditional investment assets like stocks and bonds.

Leading the ETF market with its flagship brand 'KODEX,' Samsung Asset Management has been a pioneer in the domestic ETF market since October 2002 when it launched the industry's first 'KODEX 200.' Out of the total ETF market size of 130 trillion KRW, KODEX accounts for 52.5 trillion KRW, representing 40.2% of the market. The current net asset size of the KODEX 200 product is 6.8 trillion KRW, making it the largest public equity fund in South Korea. The company plans to enhance the operational efficiency of existing products while meeting customer demand through the development of various products and leading the advancement of the domestic ETF market.

The 'Samsung Korean-style TDF,' which leads the pension paradigm, is also considered a major achievement. TDFs are advanced financial products sold in the U.S. with over 2,100 trillion KRW in sales, reflecting the life cycle in fund management. The fund automatically optimizes asset allocation from retirement through old age. The equity ratio is reduced from 79% in youth to 29% at retirement and then to 18% over the following 30 years, shifting from aggressive to conservative investment through automatic diversification. Samsung Asset Management designed the TDF tailored to the Korean life cycle in 2016 in partnership with Capital Group, a leading U.S. pension product financial company. The current assets under management are approximately 1.8 trillion KRW and continue to grow steadily each year. The Samsung Korean-style TDF series consists of 10 funds reflecting retirement timing and equity allocation ratios.

Samsung Asset Management is also a leader in the rapidly growing OCIO market. Based on years of experience managing pension fund OCIOs, it is expanding its client base to university endowments, public institutions, foundations, and private companies. Since the introduction of the pension investment pool system in December 2001, it has been selected as the weekly manager six consecutive times and has performed weekly management duties for over 20 years. It is also participating as the lead manager for the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Fund for three consecutive terms. Starting with the Seoul National University Development Fund in 2019, the first private OCIO, it was also selected as the entrusted management institution for Ewha Womans University. In 2021, it was appointed as the lead manager for the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation with a portfolio of 1.5 trillion KRW, managing domestic and international bond portfolios. In 2022, it was the first to be selected as the dedicated management institution for the Small and Medium Enterprise Retirement Pension Fund. Samsung Asset Management provides comprehensive solution services by offering professional consulting from the perspective of the institutions it manages and acting as a proxy for the Chief Investment Officer (CIO).

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