The growth of the fund market has resulted in asset management companies' net profit increasing by more than 200 billion won compared to a year earlier.
On the 30th, Financial Supervisory Service reported that the net profit of all asset management companies (490 firms) last year was 1.8099 trillion won, an increase of 13.0% compared to the previous year.
Operating revenue increased by 10.1% compared to the end of 2023, reaching 55.513 trillion won, driven by a rise in fee income. Operating costs rose by 10.0% to 38.837 trillion won due to increased securities investment losses.
Of the 490 firms, 281 posted a profit, while the remaining 209 recorded a loss. The ratio of loss-making companies increased by 4.5 percentage points to 42.7% compared to 2023. Among private asset management firms, 196 out of 411 reported losses. Last year's return on equity (ROE) was 11.6%, an increase of 0.5 percentage points compared to the previous year.
Fee income grew by 9.0% compared to the previous year, totaling 44.090 trillion won. Of this amount, fund-related fees accounted for 36.384 trillion won, and discretionary advisory fees were 7.706 trillion won. Administrative expenses increased by 5.6% to 30.016 trillion won as the number of employees rose, while securities investment gains and losses from proprietary asset management decreased by 44.2% to 2.596 trillion won.
As of the end of last year, the managed assets of the 490 firms totaled 1,656.4 trillion won, an increase of 11.7% from the end of the previous year. The fund's entrusted amount was 1,042.2 trillion won, with public funds at 412.4 trillion won and private funds at 629.8 trillion won. Public funds primarily increased in bonds, stocks, and derivatives, while private funds mainly grew in real estate, mixed assets, and bonds.
FSS noted, "The growth of the public fund market is partly due to the concentration on exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mentioned that the proportion of loss-making firms has increased due to factors such as decreased securities investment profits, increased operating costs, and the rise of small private management companies."