The National Pension Service (NPS) Investment Management said on the 27th that last year's overall fund return was a provisional 18.82%.
The National Pension Service earned 231.6 trillion won over the past year, and the fund's reserves totaled 1,458 trillion won. Since the fund was established in 1988, the cumulative annualized return has been 8.04%.
In particular, last year's return was a record high, the best result in 37 years since the National Pension Service fund was established. With global asset prices rising and strategic asset allocation working in tandem, it delivered an all-time performance, according to assessments. An official at the National Pension Service Investment Management said it was "an outstanding performance even compared with other major overseas pension funds."
By asset class, domestic stocks returned 82.44%, overseas stocks 19.74%, domestic bonds 0.84%, overseas bonds 3.77%, and alternative investments 8.03%.
The undisputed No. 1 driver of this "all-time" performance was domestic stocks. On top of strength in technology stocks centered on artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors, expectations for government policies to improve the structure of the capital market combined to strongly pull up the overall return.
Overseas stocks also served as a solid support, as large AI-related technology names delivered robust results despite uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy.
Behind the National Pension Service's all-time report card was balanced strength not only in stocks but also in bonds and alternative investments. Domestic bonds repeatedly rose and fell amid two base rate cuts during the year and an economic recovery trend, settling into positive returns. Overseas bonds also generated gains thanks to rate declines (bond price increases) driven by three rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve and concerns about an economic slowdown.
On top of that, valuation gains and realized profits from alternative investment assets added up, making it truly "a year when everything worked" for the National Pension Service.
Kim Sung-joo, chair of the National Pension Service (NPS), said, "The reason the National Pension Service achieved a record high, delivering top-tier performance even among pension funds worldwide last year, is that we have continuously improved our infrastructure, including rigorous risk management from a long-term perspective, diversification of asset allocation, and enhancements to the performance compensation system." Kim added, "In particular, the rise in the domestic stock market provided significant benefits."
Meanwhile, the final performance evaluation of National Pension Service fund management will be confirmed by the Fund Management Committee around late June after review by the Risk Management and Performance Compensation Expert Committee.