The financial authorities noted that they would restructure the integrated investment account (IMA) system, which has been neglected for nine years without detailed regulations, during the first quarter of this year. IMA is a product where a securities firm receives deposits from clients under the condition of principal protection and manages it. Korea Investment Securities is eager to enter the IMA business, while Mirae Asset Securities has a relatively lukewarm response. This difference in reaction is interpreted as stemming from the varying management philosophies of the two firms regarding the capital market.
According to the financial authorities on the 14th, the Financial Services Commission plans to prepare and announce an improvement plan for the integrated financial investment operator (securities firm) system in the first quarter of this year (January to March). This improvement plan will also include detailed operational regulations for the IMA. Kim Byeong-hwan, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, reported this content to Acting President Choi Sang-mok on the 8th of this month as part of the 2025 work plan.
The IMA, which can only be operated by securities firms with more than 8 trillion won in equity capital, is a system introduced in 2016 by the financial authorities with the aim of creating a 'Korean version of Goldman Sachs.' IMA operators are obligated to repay the principal and can use the deposits entrusted by investors to lend to corporations or invest in corporate bonds. The structure allows for the distribution of operational profits to investors later. For securities firms, the ability to raise funds without limit is the biggest attraction of IMA. Other funding sources, such as corporate credit extensions and issued bills, are all limited to 200% of their equity capital.
However, not a single IMA operator has emerged in the nine years since its introduction. This is because the financial authorities have only presented the broad outline of the IMA system without creating specific operational guidelines. In the meantime, calls for revising and supplementing insufficient policies to strengthen the role of securities firms as venture capital providers have grown louder. This background explains why the Financial Services Commission recently announced, 'We will restructure the IMA system during the first quarter.'
Among domestic securities firms, only Mirae Asset Securities and Korea Investment Securities meet the condition of having more than 8 trillion won in equity capital. Both securities firms have stated that they would positively consider entering the IMA business once it is restructured. However, the temperature difference between the two is evident. Korea Investment Securities actively expresses its interest in the IMA, while Mirae Asset Securities has a more reserved attitude, indicating that while it would be nice to have new business opportunities, it is not urgent.
This difference in enthusiasm also resembles the two firms' approaches to the issued bills business. Issued bills, allowed only for super-large investment banks (IBs) with over 4 trillion won in equity capital, are bills issued by securities firms based on their own credit with a maturity of less than one year. Like the IMA, they utilize client deposits for investment. As of the end of the third quarter of last year, Korea Investment Securities had an issued bills balance of 16.4865 trillion won, fully utilizing the limit and aggressively operating. In contrast, Mirae Asset Securities had an issued bills balance of only 7.8921 trillion won.
The market interprets this temperature difference between the two firms as connected to the owners' approaches to the capital market. Korea Investment Securities has centered its growth strategy on the IB business. An executive from the industry, who is a former member of Korea Investment Securities, noted, 'From the perspective of Chairman Kim Nam-goo of Korea Investment Holdings, he has long wanted securities firms to operate with more emphasis on investment returns rather than commission revenue,' adding, 'Similarly, the demand for IMA will inevitably be much stronger.'
Park Hyun-joo, chairman of Mirae Asset Group, is a figure who built a successful myth based on fund sales and asset management. A senior executive from an asset management company, who was part of Mirae Asset's early establishment, stated, 'From Chairman Park's philosophical perspective, the structure where a securities firm lends customer deposits to corporations and returns them with interest on a designated date is not the direction that Mirae Asset pursues.' They added, '(Mirae Asset) will not disengage from the IMA business, but it may not be a top priority.'