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Investment

Investing assets entrusted by the government, Bank of Korea and public funds in the global financial market

Portfolio Highlights

The Korea Investment Corporation was entrusted with USD 117.1 billion following its establishment in 2005, and has a net asset value of USD 205.0 billion as of the end of 2020.

  • Overview

    First entrusted with USD 1 billion in 2006, KIC has consistently expanded its operating scale through stable and capable management. Our assets under management (AUM) at the end of 2021 totaled USD 205 billion on the back of excellent investment performance, marking a 12% increase from 2020.


    Following a principle of diversification, KIC manages a portfolio that is 82.5% traditional assets and 17.5% alternative assets, including private equity, real estate, infrastructure and hedge funds.


    The AUM of our alternative assets, which have a low correlation with traditional assets and pursues relatively high returns, grew 29% (USD 8 billion) to USD 35.9 billion, corresponding to their growth in portfolio weight from 15.3% in 2020 to 17.5% in 2021.

  • Asset allocation (2021)

    (USD billion, %)

    Asset allocation (2021)
    Category NAV Asset allocation
    Total 205.0 100.0
    Traditional assets Equities 83.2 40.6
    Fixed income 71.6 34.9
    Other* 14.3 7.0
    Subtotal 169.1 82.5
    Alternative assets Private equity 15.7 7.7
    Real estate and infrastructure 13.4 6.5
    Hedge funds 5.5 2.7
    Cash equivalent 1.3 0.6
    Subtotal 35.9 17.5
    • * “Other” refers to inflation-linked bonds, cash, hybrid securities, etc.
  • Asset allocation by year

    (%)

    Asset allocation by year
    Category 2020 2021
    Total 100.0 100.0
    Equities 42.7 40.6
    Fixed income 35.2 34.9
    Alternative assets 15.3 17.5
    Other 6.8 7.0
  • Assets under management by year

    (USD billion)

    Assets under management by year
    2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
    Total assets* 115.8 136.7 137.1 161.3 188.1
    NAV 134.1 131.6 157.3 181.3 205.0
    Accumulated gains 34.1 29.0 49.2 71.0 87.9
    • * Previous year-end NAV + investments in 2021
  • Net asset value

    (USD billion)

    • 2017 134.1
    • 2018 131.6
    • 2019 157.3
    • 2020 183.1
    • 2021 205.0
  • Return on total assets

    KIC’s return on total assets in 2021 stood at 9.13%, with a five-year annualized return of 9.94% and an annualized return since inception of 5.47%.

    (%)

    Return on total assets
    Category 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
    Return on total assets
    (before fees)
    16.42 -3.66 15.39 13.71 9.13
    Return on total assets
    (after fees)
    16.26 -3.80 15.21 13.52 8.94
    Annualized return
    since inception
    4.45 3.76 4.60 5.22 5.47
  • Return on traditional aseets

    The return on traditional assets in 2021 was 6.75%, -39 bps compared to the benchmark.

    Return on traditional aseets
    Category 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Annualized return for the past five years(’17-’21) Annualized return since inception
    Total Return (%) 16.71 -5.64 16.62 14.62 6.75 9.46 5.67
    Excess return (bp) 129 -81 33 144 -39 32 22
    Equities Return (%) 25.50 -9.55 27.52 19.16 18.61 15.39 6.41
    Excess return (bp) 122 -71 6 261 -92 39 -1
    Fixed income Return (%) 8.00 -1.32 7.53 9.88 -4.62 3.73 3.76
    Excess return (bp) 72 -13 73 78 39 48 33
  • Return on alternative assets

    Annualized return since inception: 8.83%

    • Private equity
      • Inception : Sept. 16, 2009
      • Annualized return since inception : 11.33 %
    • Real estate‧infrastructure
      • Inception : March 15, 2010
      • Annualized return since inception : 7.76 %
    • Hedge funds
      • Inception : Jan. 29, 2010
      • Annualized return since inception : 5.64 %
    • Alternative asset total *
      • Annualized return since inception : 8.83 %

    * Total includes commodities (categorized as traditional assets since April 2011)

  • Benchmark for each asset class
    Benchmark for each asset class
    Asset class Benchmark
    Equities Morgan Stanley Capital International All Country World Index ex Korea (unhedged)
    Fixed income Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Index ex KRW ex Korea (unhedged)
    Inflation-linked bonds Bloomberg Barclays Global Inflation-linked Bond Index
    Cash ICE BofA Merrill Lynch 3-Month US Treasury Bill
    Private equity Morgan Stanley Capital International All Country World Index ex Korea (unhedged) + 2%, 3 months lagged
    Real estate · infrastructure G7 inflation rate + 4%, 3 months lagged
    Hedge funds BofA Merrill Lynch 3-Month US Treasury Bill + 3.5%, 1 month lagged
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