KCGI Asset Management’s Salaryman Fund Nears 500 Billion Won in Net Assets

KCGI Asset Management announced on March 19 that the KCGI Salaryman Fund (KCGI Salaryman Securities Investment Trust [Equity-Fund of Funds Type]) is on the verge of reaching 500 billion won in net assets for the first time in eight years.

Established on March 12, 2018 as a long-term investment fund to help office workers prepare for retirement, the fund’s net assets stood at 459.6 billion won as of March 12. This figure has surged approximately 320-fold compared to the end of its first year in 2018 (1.4 billion won), far outpacing the 42% average net asset growth rate of similar funds in the sluggish public fund market.

Looking at subscriptions by class, individual pension accounts make up 76%, general accounts 21%, and retirement pension accounts 3%, indicating that most investors choose pension classes. In terms of investment method, installment-type accounts account for 46%, while lump-sum accounts make up 54%, showing that the fund is primarily used for long-term investment via pension accounts.

Typically, public funds grow their scale by raising capital through nationwide branch networks of major banks or securities companies. However, this fund is distributed by only five companies, and as much as 93% of subscriptions are made through KCGI Asset Management’s direct channel. This means that most customers install the KCGI Asset Management app and select the fund themselves.

Over the past eight years, the fund has achieved a cumulative return of 134%, with an annualized return of 10.8%. Its six-month return of 18.7% ranked first among its peers. Not only are its returns high, but its Sharpe ratio—measuring return relative to volatility—stood at 1.3 over the past three years, outperforming both the benchmark (1.2) and similar funds (1.1). This indicates that the fund effectively protected returns during downturns and generated strong performance in rising markets.

KCGI Asset Management attributes the fund’s success to three differentiated strategies: systematic asset allocation, investments utilizing global megatrends, and a low-cost structure. The fund’s annual total fee is set at 0.710% (Ce class, synthetic total fee basis), which is lower than the average for overseas equity funds (1.43%, based on KCGI Asset Management’s own data) and overseas asset allocation funds (1.14%) under the same criteria, creating a favorable structure for long-term investment.

A representative of KCGI Asset Management stated, "True to its name, the Salaryman Fund is designed so that office workers can comfortably invest by setting aside a portion of their monthly paycheck. We will continue to adhere to thorough risk management and a low-cost principle to remain the number one partner in asset growth for office workers in Korea."

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