Asset management companies posted about 2.7 trillion won in net income in the second quarter this year, and assets under management exceeded 2,777 trillion won.
According to the "second-quarter asset management company operating performance (preliminary)" the Financial Supervisory Service released on the 11th, second-quarter net income came to 2.6889 trillion won. That was up 1.2226 trillion won (83.4%) from the previous quarter's 1.4664 trillion won. Compared with the same period a year earlier (855.5 billion won), it increased about 3.14 times.
Operating profit was 2.4195 trillion won, surging 1.0672 trillion won (78.9%) from the previous quarter's 1.3523 trillion won and 227.5% from the same period a year earlier (738.9 billion won).
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said, "Fund-related fee revenue, such as management and performance fees, increased, and higher securities investment gains from proprietary accounts helped improve results."
Second-quarter fee revenue was 2.6072 trillion won, up 714.1 billion won (37.7%) from the previous quarter. In particular, securities trading gains and losses generated through proprietary asset management amounted to 829.7 billion won, up 159.6% from the previous quarter.
Asset managers' return on equity (ROE) rose 20.8 percentage points from the previous quarter to 51.9%.
As of the second quarter, assets under management (AUM) were 2,777.5 trillion won, up 421.8 trillion won (17.9%) from the previous quarter and 788.2 trillion won (39.6%) from the same period a year earlier (1,989.3 trillion won).
Fund net worth (1,730.9 trillion won) increased by 240.6 trillion won from the first quarter. Thanks to the KOSPI's rise and stronger demand for ETFs, public funds rose 191.9 trillion won from the previous quarter to 897.4 trillion won. As of the end of June, total ETF net asset value (NAV) was 512.4 trillion won, up 42.1% from the end of March (360.7 trillion won).
In contrast, private funds stood at 833.5 trillion won, up 48.7 trillion won from the previous quarter. Discretionary investment mandates were tallied at 1,046.6 trillion won, an increase of 181.2 trillion won.
Despite strong earnings across the asset management industry, polarization deepened further. Of all 513 asset management companies, 57.1% were profitable, but the share of loss-making firms was 42.9%, up from 37.6% at the end of March. Among public fund managers (77 firms), the deficit ratio was 14.3%, down 1.3 percentage points over the same period, while among private fund managers (436 firms), the deficit ratio was 47.9%, up 6.4 percentage points.
The Financial Supervisory Service said that in the second quarter, stock market investment funds were concentrated in specific industries and stocks, and risks from excessive short-term trading and leveraged investing, including ETFs, became pronounced.
An official at the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said, "As volatility in market indicators such as domestic and overseas interest rates, stock prices, and exchange rates increases, uncertainty in financial markets also persists," adding, "We will strengthen monitoring of managers with weak soundness and work to ease market volatility by curbing leverage and 'debt investing' (investing with borrowed money)."