The net profit of asset management companies in the first quarter of this year (January to March) has decreased by about 16% compared to the same period last year. The percentage of companies that reported losses soared from 42.7% to 54.3% over the past year.
According to the '2025 Q1 operational performance of asset management companies' announced by the Financial Supervisory Service on the 19th, the net profit of asset management companies in the first quarter of this year was 444.5 billion won, a decrease of 15.5% compared to the first quarter of last year.
Selling and administrative expenses increased by 29.7 billion won (5.6%) to 742.7 billion won, while securities investment profits decreased by 81.3 billion won (52.6%) to 83.2 billion won. Revenue rose by 1.0488 trillion won, an increase of 28.8 billion won (2.8%).
However, the net profit for the first quarter increased by 53.3% compared to the previous quarter (290 billion won). Securities investment profits increased by 20.1 billion won (38.0%), and selling and administrative expenses decreased by 173.2 billion won (18.9%). Revenue decreased by 139.2 billion won (11.7%) compared to the previous quarter.
The operating profit of asset management companies for the first quarter was recorded at 405.2 billion won. Compared to the first quarter of last year, this represents a decrease of 13.9%, but an increase of 20.1% compared to the previous quarter.
Among a total of 497 asset management companies, 270 (54.3%) reported losses. The proportion of loss-making companies increased by 11.6 percentage points (P) from the previous year (42.7%). This marks the highest level since the first quarter of 2020 (62.3%) when the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic began to take hold.
In particular, among 418 private asset management companies, 253, or 60.5%, reported losses. The proportion of loss-making companies increased by 13.3 P compared to the previous year (47.2%).
The return on equity (ROE) for asset management companies fell to 11.0%, down 0.6 P from the same period last year (11.6%).
As of the end of March, the total assets under management (funds and investment discretionary contracts) of asset management companies amounted to 1,730.2 trillion won, an increase of 73.8 trillion won (4.5%) compared to the end of last year. Fund assets were 1,106.5 trillion won, and discretionary investment contracts stood at 623.7 trillion won, increasing by 64.3 trillion won (6.2%) and 9.5 trillion won (1.6%), respectively, compared to the end of last year.
The FSS noted that with the decrease in revenue and the increase in the proportion of loss-making companies, it is necessary to enhance the soundness of financial structures by stabilizing revenue structures. The FSS stated, "To prepare for market volatility, we will regularly analyze fund inflows and outflows, the financial and profit-and-loss status of asset management companies, and will continue plans for management and supervision aimed at enhancing the stability of asset management companies through risk management system upgrades and strengthened internal control management."