The National Pension Service has begun in earnest the process of recovering funds entrusted to IGIS Asset Management. IGIS Asset Management returned the investment to the National Pension Service after selling Signature Tower in Nov. The National Pension Service invested about 380 billion won in Starfield Goyang through IGIS Asset Management and is pursuing ways to sell this capital or transfer asset management.
According to the real estate industry and the investment banking (IB) industry on the 12th, the National Pension Service has begun work this month to transfer management of Starfield Goyang, which IGIS Asset Management invested in, to another manager or to sell the asset, targeting Mar.–Apr. next year. IGIS Asset Management carried out the Starfield Goyang development project with Shinsegae in 2016. IGIS Asset Management received about 380 billion won (about 49% equity) from the National Pension Service and pushed ahead with the Starfield Goyang development project with Shinsegae Property (about 51%). Since completion, Starfield Goyang has generated steady rental revenue every year and is considered one of IGIS Asset Management's core assets.
Earlier, the National Pension Service also fully recovered its investment funds after selling Signature Tower, for which it added acquisition funds and entrusted management to IGIS Asset Management, to KB Asset Management for about 1 trillion won in Nov. IGIS Asset Management acquired Signature Tower from Shinhan Asset Management for about 720 billion won in 2017. At the time, the National Pension Service added 140 billion won (about 20%) in acquisition funds through a fund it had committed to.
IGIS Asset Management is currently proceeding with a sale process. During IGIS Asset Management's sale process, the National Pension Service determined that a report on the entrusted asset fund was provided without prior consent to Hanwha Life, Heungkuk Life, and Hillhouse, which participated in the main bidding of the acquisition, and began to recover the entire entrusted funds. IGIS Asset Management holds more than 26 trillion won in assets under management, of which about 2 trillion won were entrusted by the National Pension Service; based on market valuation, it is estimated at about 7 trillion–8 trillion won.
A National Pension Service official said, "It is difficult for the fund to confirm operational details." An IGIS Asset Management official said, "We have not received any contact from the beneficiary (the National Pension Service) regarding the disposition of Starfield Goyang." An IB industry official said, "The National Pension Service is in contact with other managers to sell or transfer the asset of Starfield Goyang."