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Investment

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

Portfolio Highlights

The Korea Investment Corporation has grown to become a globally leading sovereign wealth fund, with total assets under management of USD 189.4 billion by the end of 2023.

  • Overview

    First entrusted with USD 1 billion in 2006, KIC has consistently expanded its operating scale through stable and capable management. Assets under management (AUM) at the end of 2023 totaled USD 189.4 billion.


    Following a principle of diversification, KIC manages a portfolio that is 78.0% traditional assets and 22.0% 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 capture an illiquidity premium through long-term investment, increased from USD 38.7 billion in 2002 to USD 41.7 billion in 2003, accounting for 22.0% of the total portfolio.

  • Asset allocation (2023)

    (USD billion, %)

    Asset allocation (2023)
    Category NAV Asset allocation
    Total 189.4 100.0
    Traditional assets Equities 74.2 39.2
    Fixed income 59.8 31.5
    Subtotal* 147.7 78.0
    Alternative assets Private equity 17.9 9.4
    Real estate and infrastructure 17.7 9.4
    Hedge funds 5.3 2.8
    Subtotal* 41.7 22.0
    • * The subtotals include other assets such as inflation-linked bonds and cash.
  • Asset allocation by year

    (%)

    Asset allocation by year
    Category 2022 2023
    Total 100.0 100.0
    Equities 38.3 39.2
    Fixed income 31.6 31.5
    Alternative assets 22.8 22.0
    Other 7.3 7.3
  • Assets under management by year

    (USD billion)

    Assets under management by year
    2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
    NAV 157.3 183.1 205.0 169.3 189.4
    Cumulative net investment income since establishment 49.2 71.0 87.9 58.2 77.9
  • Net asset value

    (USD billion)

    • 2019 157.3
    • 2020 183.1
    • 2021 205.0
    • 2022 169.3
    • 2023 189.4
  • Cumulative net investment income since establishment

    KIC’s return on total assets in 2023 was at 11.59%, with a five-year annualized return of 6.10% and an annualized return since inception of 4.63%.

    (%)

    Return on total assets
    Category 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
    Return on total assets
    (before fees)
    15.39 13.71 9.13 -14.36 11.59
    Return on total assets
    (after fees)
    15.21 13.52 8.94 -14.46 11.44
    Annualized return
    since inception
    4.60 5.22 5.47 4.12 4.54
  • Return on traditional aseets

    The return on traditional assets in 2023 was 14.35%, -6 bps compared to the benchmark.

    Return on traditional aseets
    Category 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Annualized return for the past five years Annualized return since inception
    Total Return (%) 16.62 14.62 6.75 -17.58 14.35 6.10 4.63
    Excess return (bp) 33 144 -39 -52 -6 10 15
    Equities Return (%) 27.52 19.16 18.61 -19.27 22.44 12.24 5.55
    Excess return (bp) 6 261 -92 -137 -13 -7 -12
    Fixed income Return (%) 7.53 9.88 -4.62 -16.65 6.34 -0.02 2.59
    Excess return (bp) 73 78 39 14 14 42 31
  • Return on alternative assets

    Annualized return since inception: 7.83%

    • Private equity
      • Inception : Sept. 16, 2009
      • Annualized return since inception : 9.57 %
    • Real estate‧infrastructure
      • Inception : March 15, 2010
      • Annualized return since inception : 7.19 %
    • Hedge funds
      • Inception : Jan. 29, 2010
      • Annualized return since inception : 5.40 %
    • Alternative asset total *
      • Annualized return since inception : 7.83 %

    * 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
    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
    Private debt Morningstar Global Leveraged Loan Index + 1.25%, 3 months lagged

    (As of January 1, 2024)

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