This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:34 p.m. on Mar. 12, 2026.
The National Pension Service will select an external adviser to strengthen expertise in overseas alternative investment management. As the share of alternatives such as global real estate, infrastructure, and private equity funds (PEF) is expanding rapidly, the move is seen as an effort to reinforce investment verification and the risk management framework.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 12th, the National Pension Service Fund Management Center recently sent out a request for proposal (RFP) to select advisers for overseas alternative investment delegated management. To participate in this bid, firms must have advisory track records of about $10 billion (about 13 trillion won) or more based on Preqin, a global alternative investment research firm, and have experience providing advice on recommending fund candidates to at least 10 institutional investors.
The National Pension Service outsources most of its alternative investments—such as overseas real estate, infrastructure, and private investments—to external managers. In particular, unlike in Korea, overseas alternative investments are often made on an ad hoc commitment basis rather than through regular commitments. The target investment regions are broad, spanning Asia, Europe, and North America, making it difficult for the Fund Management Center to review all investment opportunities and managers on its own.
Accordingly, it is seen as seeking to use a separate external adviser to systematically manage the manager pool and to verify investment opportunities proposed by managers. Compared with traditional stock and bond investments, alternative deals often range from hundreds of billions to trillions of won and feature complex structures, making professional verification procedures essential.
According to the request, the adviser selected this time will support the overall manager selection process, including recommending candidates for delegated managers (GPs) and conducting due diligence, while taking on investment feasibility reviews such as project-by-project structure, price appropriateness, and financial model verification. In effect, it will manage the pool of managers to be used in the National Pension Service's overseas alternative investments and perform the role of verifying investment opportunities.
This also coincides with the rapid expansion of the National Pension Service's overseas alternative investments. As of the end of last year, the National Pension Service's total fund size was about 1,458 trillion won, of which alternatives accounted for about 16%, or 232 trillion won. Of that, assets invested in overseas real estate, infrastructure, and private investments alone are said to exceed 200 trillion won.
Global institutional investors are also actively using external investment consultants as they expand into alternatives. Notably, Cambridge Associates, StepStone Group, Mercer, and Willis Towers Watson provide alternative investment advisory services to global institutional investors.
Industry sources expect the role of external advisers to grow as the National Pension Service's overseas alternative investments continue to expand. The move is seen as an effort to strengthen an independent verification framework for large global investments with complex structures.
The National Pension Service Fund Management Center plans to receive proposals through Apr. 6, conduct presentation (PT) evaluations over two days, and select the final adviser.