South Korea's fund market is expanding rapidly, driven by exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but the pace of hiring fund managers has failed to keep up, causing assets under management per manager to surge. The number of "mega managers" running more than 10 trillion won each has approached 30, with a handful of large asset management firms increasingly dominating the talent landscape.
According to the Korea Financial Investment Association on Wednesday, the total net asset value of all domestic funds stood at 668.56 trillion won ($46.7 billion), up approximately 46% from 456.64 trillion won a year earlier. Over the same period, the number of fund managers rose just 6%, from 869 to 924, while assets per manager jumped 38% from 525.5 billion won to 723.5 billion won. The rapid influx of capital has far outstripped the growth in investment personnel, sharply increasing the burden on individual managers.
A total of 29 fund managers in South Korea now each oversee more than 10 trillion won. In the past, it was considered unusual for even a firm's star managers to handle assets in the trillions of won. Now, with dozens of managers surpassing the 10 trillion won mark, the industry is entering an era of "mega-sized" fund managers.
Mirae Asset Global Investments' managers have effectively locked up the top tier. Among all 924 managers, Shin Seung-woo of Mirae Asset Global Investments manages the most at 35.55 trillion won. In second place is Jung Eui-hyun of the same firm, running 32.87 trillion won single-handedly. Kim Nam-ho follows with 27.18 trillion won and Kim Min-soo with 27.05 trillion won, meaning all of the "Big Four" belong to Mirae Asset Global Investments.
