The National Pension Service said on the 28th that its fund posted a 27% range rate of return in the first half of this year. The fund's reserves were tallied at 1,866 trillion won. That is an increase of 340 trillion won compared with the end of March this year (1,526 trillion won).
On this day, the National Pension Service (NPS) fund management headquarters said that as of the end of June this year, the National Pension Service's fund reserves were 1,866 trillion won and the rate of return was 27.22% (money-weighted rate of return) on a provisional basis.
At the end of March this year, the National Pension Service's fund reserves were about 1,526 trillion won, an increase of roughly 340 trillion won by comparison. However, as the KOSPI index topped the 9,100 level at the end of June to hit a record high and then fell more than 24% in July–August, the current fund reserves are estimated to have decreased somewhat.
By asset class, returns were 107.37% for domestic stocks, 17.81% for overseas stocks, –3.00% for domestic bonds, 9.22% for overseas bonds, and 9.60% for alternative investments.
The National Pension Service fund management headquarters said, "Domestic stocks led overall returns by posting triple-digit gains on the back of solid results centered on semiconductors as uncertainty related to the Middle East war eased," adding, "Overseas stocks also rose on the continued artificial intelligence (AI) investment cycle and solid results led by tech shares."
Domestic and overseas bonds were affected by rising interest rates due to the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) holding its benchmark rate and the tightening stance of major Central Banks. In particular, domestic bonds saw lower returns because of valuation declines caused by higher rates, while overseas bonds posted positive returns due to the rise in the won–dollar exchange rate.
Kim Sung-ju, National Pension Service (NPS) chairman, said, "In the first half, we were able to achieve stable performance thanks to favorable trends in domestic and overseas stock markets," adding, "Since the second half began, there has been some fluctuation in returns due to high volatility, but we are still maintaining solid performance."
He added, "We will continue to do our utmost to achieve strong results this year as well by generating long-term, stable returns through thorough risk management and diversified investment."
Meanwhile, the alternative investment asset return is a figure that reflects interest and dividends, foreign exchange translation gains and losses due to exchange rate fluctuations, and the fair value at the time it becomes available.