The nerve game between Samsung Asset Management and Mirae Asset Global Investments, which began in the exchange-traded fund (ETF) market, shows signs of spreading to the retirement pension robo-advisor (RA) market. Mirae Asset has been preparing a press conference to commemorate the launch of its service under the title of 'the first comprehensive asset management company' but was preempted by Samsung Asset Management, which announced the launch of its service the day before the event.
Samsung Asset Management is not among the 17 companies that applied to the financial authorities for the retirement pension robo-advisor discretionary service. Specifically, Quarterback Asset Management is the applicant, and Samsung Asset Management is in a collaborative relationship with Quarterback. Mirae Asset expressed discomfort, stating that Samsung, which is not even a business entity, intentionally threw a wrench in right before their event.
On the 14th, Samsung Asset Management announced that it will start providing robo-advisor discretionary asset management services through Samsung Securities, based on an algorithm jointly owned with the robo-advisor specialist Quarterback Asset Management. Samsung Asset Management noted, 'We will provide robo-advisor services more stably to a greater number of retirement pension customers based on our accumulated know-how in retirement pension management and marketing capabilities.'
Upon hearing this news, Mirae Asset Global Investments remarked, 'Did Samsung Asset Management deliberately announce the service launch to coincide with the 14th?' Mirae Asset was preparing a press conference on the 15th to announce the launch of its retirement pension robo-advisor service. Samsung's side stated, 'It was just a coincidence, and there was no intent.' However, Mirae Asset's side mentioned, 'It does feel intentional.'
Mirae Asset's sensitive reaction is due to the plan to highlight that their service is 'the first retirement pension robo-advisor service among comprehensive asset management companies' at the event on the 15th. The domestic retirement pension robo-advisor discretionary market has entered full-scale service competition following the debut of the first player, Pount Investment Consulting, in the first week of last month. While Mirae Asset relinquished the title of the overall first to Pount, they intended to emphasize that they are the first among comprehensive asset management companies.
However, Samsung Asset Management preempted the announcement by revealing the service launch fact the day before.
A source in the asset management industry explained, 'While Quarterback has the name of an asset management company, its nature is that of a fintech firm specializing in robo-advisors, so Mirae Asset probably wanted to widely promote the point of 'we are the first to launch among comprehensive asset management companies.'
The nerve game between Samsung Asset Management and Mirae Asset Global Investments has intensified recently. Samsung Asset Management's KODEX brand, which once held more than half of the domestic ETF market share, is being fiercely chased by Mirae Asset's TIGER brand. The two companies have engaged in a chicken game, trading blows over ETF total fee reductions, until they received a warning message from Lee Bok-hyun, the head of the Financial Supervisory Service, to tone it down.