F&Guide to Establish JV with US Index Company in First Half of This Year

"Providing Global Indices to Domestic Clients Faster"

F&Guide and the US index company Indxx are establishing a joint venture (JV) to supply global indices to the Korean market. From the left in the photo are Chulsoon Lee, CEO of F&Guide, and Rahul Sen Sharma, Co-CEO of Indxx. Photo by F&Guide

F&Guide, the largest private index company in Korea, and the U.S. index company Indxx will establish a joint venture (JV) in the first half of this year to supply global indices to the Korean market.

The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in 2022 to respond to the rapidly increasing investment demand for global exchange-traded products (ETPs) and have been conducting joint sales activities. With the establishment of this JV, they aim to quickly respond to diverse index development demands and strengthen customer service.

F&Guide, which started its index business in 2006, is the largest private index company in Korea, with assets under management (AUM) of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on its indices reaching 16 trillion KRW. Indxx, operating in the U.S., India, and Europe, has been providing indices to investors for over 15 years and counts major global ETF managers as its clients. ETFs tracking Indxx’s indices are listed not only in Korea but also in the U.S., Europe, Japan, Australia, Israel, and Brazil. The assets tracking these indices amount to 25 billion USD.

According to the agreement, the two companies will establish the JV in Korea within the first half of the year as a jointly funded entity. The JV’s primary business direction in the short term is to supply global ETP indices to domestic clients using F&Guide’s sales network. This will resolve communication inconveniences arising from collaboration with existing foreign index companies and quickly respond to index development demands tailored to customer needs. Additionally, the JV aims to become the first specialized foreign index company in Korea by developing various proprietary indices and supplying them to the Korean market. In the mid to long term, it plans to expand its sales scope to financial investment institutions within the Asian region.

Hee-Soo Kim, Executive Director of the Index Business Division at F&Guide, said, “We are confident that the establishment of this JV will create synergy by combining the index development and marketing capabilities of both companies. We will maximize the satisfaction of financial investment institutions and investors by providing innovative and diverse global indices tailored to domestic investor demands in a timely manner.”

Rahul Sen Sharma, Co-CEO of Indxx, said, “We have embarked on a journey toward a great opportunity for mutual growth with F&Guide. We aim to leverage the strengths of both companies to expand our influence, pioneer new areas in the index industry, and pursue the shared interests of clients and investors.”

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