KCGI Asset Management announced Wednesday that its 'KCGI Freedom Qualified TDF' series has surpassed 500 billion won ($370 million) in net assets.
According to KCGI Asset Management, this marks the first time a target-date fund (TDF) from an asset manager not affiliated with a financial group has exceeded 500 billion won in net assets. TDFs are pension-specialized funds that gradually reduce exposure to risky assets and increase allocation to safe assets based on the target retirement year (vintage).
By share class, retirement pension accounts comprised the largest portion at 77.1%, followed by individual pension accounts at 19.8% and general accounts at 3.1%. By vintage, TDF2050 had the highest subscription rate at 36.9%, followed by TDF2035 at 17.1%, TDF2030 at 17.0%, and TDF2045 at 16.4%, indicating strong participation among workers in their 30s to 50s.
The rapid growth in assets under management is attributed to solid returns and risk management capabilities. KCGI Freedom Qualified TDF ranked in the top 20% for 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year returns among 28 qualified TDFs. The 5-year return averaged 49.5%, placing it in the top 12%.
The fund also demonstrated strong performance in the Sharpe ratio, which measures returns relative to volatility. As of late last month, the average 5-year Sharpe ratio across KCGI Freedom Qualified TDF vintages was 0.59, ranking in the top 24%, while the 1-year ratio was 1.61, in the top 23%.
"Since the change of major shareholder to KCGI in 2023, we have set strengthening pension asset management as a key business objective and enhanced our management capabilities," a KCGI Asset Management official said. "Our focus on meeting customer demand for retirement funds that offer both stability and profitability has produced these results."