As of the end of June, the balance of foreign stock and hegemony investments held by major institutional investors—domestic asset management companies, foreign exchange banks, insurers, and securities firms—was tallied at $549.68 billion (about 753 trillion won), up $46.72 billion (9.3%) from the end of March. It was the largest increase on record.
In its "Trends in foreign currency investment securities by major institutional investors for the second quarter of 2026" released on the 1st, the Bank of Korea said, "Net investment in foreign stocks continued due to rising stock prices in major countries, and valuation gains also occurred." Compared with the end of March ($502.96 billion), it increased by nearly 10% in three months.
By investor type, the increase in the investment balance at asset management companies was the largest at $44.66 billion. Foreign exchange banks ($2.81 billion) and securities firms ($100 million) also rose, while insurers fell by $840 million.
By product, foreign stocks increased by $45.76 billion. This was due to the U.S. Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 rising 14.9% and the Nasdaq rising 21.4% from April to June. During the same period, Europe's Euro Stoxx 50 rose 13.6%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 37.5%.
The scale of foreign bond investment held at the end of March remained unchanged as of the end of June, as concern over falling bond prices grew with the U.S. 10-year Government Bonds yield rising from 4.32% at the end of March to 4.47% at the end of June.