Mirae Asset Global Investments has confirmed that it surpassed Samsung Asset Management for the first time last year in the revenue sector of exchange-traded fund (ETF) management. Analysts suggest that this success stems from Mirae Asset winning an advantage in the competitive U.S. ETF space, which attracted a significant influx of investor funds. Last year, Samsung made a bold move to reduce the fees for its U.S.-investing ETF to overtake Mirae Asset, but ultimately, it only eroded profitability and fell short in attracting funds.
According to the financial investment industry on the 21st, Mirae Asset Global Investments' annual ETF revenue for 2024 is estimated to be around 96.7 billion won, while Samsung Asset Management's revenue is projected at approximately 94.3 billion won. This marks the first occasion where Mirae Asset's ETF revenue has surpassed Samsung's. In 2023, Samsung reported a revenue of 81.8 billion won, while Mirae Asset recorded 70.4 billion won. Mirae Asset is said to have generously rewarded employees with performance bonuses recognizing these achievements.
The industry believes that the performance of U.S. investment-related ETFs such as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 has divided the fortunes of the two asset management firms. When looking at the top 10 ETFs for net purchases by individual investors last year, 5 out of the 10 were Samsung products, and 4 were from Mirae Asset. While Mirae Asset lagged in number, the combined net purchase of its 4 ETFs amounted to 4.4295 trillion won, surpassing Samsung's 4.3639 trillion won. This is largely attributed to the first-ranked ETF, "TIGER U.S. S&P 500," which attracted 1.8933 trillion won.
Samsung Asset Management's ETF brand, KODEX, once held more than half of the domestic ETF market share. However, due to the aggressive pursuit by Mirae Asset Global Investments with its TIGER brand, the difference in market share between the two companies has nearly vanished. Last month, by assets under management (AUM) basis, Samsung held a market share of 38.17%, while Mirae Asset had 36.09%. The difference in market share stands at 2.08 percentage points.
Samsung Asset Management made a significant move on April 19 last year by drastically lowering the annual fees for four ETFs tracking U.S. benchmark indices from 0.05% to 0.0099% in an effort to maintain its top position. However, the net purchase volume of the most purchased U.S. related ETF, "KODEX U.S. S&P 500 TR," from Samsung Asset Management amounted to only 768.8 billion won. An official from an asset management firm noted, "Samsung ventured into a chicken game by cutting fees for U.S. investment ETFs, but it ultimately resulted in deteriorated profitability."
In the battle for the third spot in ETF management revenue, Korean Investment Trust Management appears to have pushed KB Asset Management aside. Korean Investment's ETF revenue surged from approximately 6.2 billion won in 2023 to around 13.5 billion won last year. During the same period, KB's revenue grew only from 9 billion won to 10.7 billion won, conceding the third spot to Korean Investment.
The rise of Shinhan Asset Management and Timefolio Asset Management has also been notable. Shinhan's ETF revenue grew from about 2 billion won in 2023 to 5.5 billion won last year, pushing Hanwha Asset Management down to 6th place. During the same period, Timefolio (7th) increased its revenue from 1.2 billion won to 3.8 billion won, surpassing NH-Amundi Asset Management and Kiwoom Asset Management.