Samsung Korea TDF Currency-Hedged (H) Series Delivers Strong Year-to-Date Returns

Recently, as the Korean won has continued to strengthen, currency-hedged (H) investment products that effectively manage foreign exchange volatility risks are emerging as a new alternative in the pension market. In target date funds (TDF), which are representative retirement pension products, currency-hedged (H) funds are playing a key role in both protecting and growing customer assets in a stable manner.

On June 9, Samsung Asset Management announced that its flagship pension products, "Samsung Korea TDF Currency-Hedged (H) 2020 (3.52%), 2030 (4.38%), 2040 (4.5%), 2050 (4.54%), and 2060 (4.58%)" vintages, ranked first in year-to-date returns by vintage.

Three-month returns also ranked first by vintage. This is attributed to efficient asset allocation and proactive risk management strategies that have proven effective even amid rapidly changing market conditions.

Recently, a variety of factors?including changes in U.S. tariff policies?have increased external uncertainties, resulting in significantly heightened volatility across global equities, bonds, and foreign exchange markets. Since the end of March, Samsung Asset Management has proactively reduced the proportion of risky assets in its Samsung Korea TDF series and adopted a strategy of increasing the currency hedge ratio.

Since last month, as the U.S. dollar shifted to a weaker trend and products exposed to currency fluctuations faced difficulties, the Samsung Korea TDF (H) series was able to effectively defend against currency risk through its hedging strategy, thereby achieving relatively strong performance. Rather than simply avoiding risk, the fund actively reallocated investments as signs of a market rebound appeared, thereby boosting returns?a result of active asset allocation.

TDFs are lifecycle products that automatically adjust asset allocation strategies according to the retirement date. Their goal is to steadily build assets without being swayed by market timing, providing a one-stop retirement solution from the preparation stage through withdrawal. In highly uncertain markets like the current one, the importance of currency-hedged (H) TDFs?which offer broad diversification across global assets as well as management of currency volatility?is becoming increasingly prominent.

Shin Jaekwang, Executive Director of the Multi-Asset Management Division at Samsung Asset Management, explained, "Amid growing global market uncertainty since the beginning of the year, the Samsung Korea TDF series effectively defended against market shocks by adjusting the proportion of risky assets and strengthening its currency hedging strategy." He added, "To ensure financial stability after retirement, low volatility is as important as profitability. Therefore, we will continue to prioritize stable performance in our operations."

Samsung Asset Management is focused on maintaining a consistent management philosophy and unwavering strategy, as TDFs are operated from a long-term perspective. To this end, the company systematically manages its investment strategies through its Global Portfolio Investment Committee. In addition, through dedicated TDF investment strategy meetings, the company continuously monitors macroeconomic conditions and global asset markets, making every effort in the management division to strengthen systematic response capabilities to market changes.

Samsung Asset Management offers a diverse product lineup including "Samsung Korea TDF," "Samsung ETF-eul Dameun TDF," and "KODEX TDF ETF," and continues to expand customized retirement solutions tailored to clients' preferences and retirement situations.

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