Name change approved at extraordinary shareholders' meeting Tuesday, ending partnership with AXA
New ETF tracking SK Group listed on KOSPI as first move under revamped strategy
Kyobo AXA Asset Management has rebranded as Kyobo Asset Management, relaunching as the core asset management arm of Kyobo Financial Group.
The company said Wednesday it held an extraordinary shareholders' meeting Tuesday and voted to change its name from Kyobo AXA Asset Management to Kyobo Asset Management. The renaming follows its absorption last month as a wholly owned subsidiary of Kyobo Life.
Kyobo AXA Asset Management was established in September 2008 as a 50-50 joint venture between Kyobo Life and AXA Investment Managers, the asset management unit of France's AXA Group. Kyobo Life last month acquired the 50 percent stake — 3 million shares — held by BNP Paribas Asset Management Holdings for 107.5 billion won ($77.7 million), closing an 18-year joint venture arrangement.
With its ownership structure now unified, Kyobo Asset Management plans to expand its role as the group's dedicated asset management specialist. Product development, sales and customer solutions will be pursued under a single strategy, and coordination between the asset management unit and Kyobo Financial Group's financial affiliates, including Kyobo Life, will be strengthened. The company aims to combine Kyobo Financial Group's long-term customer base and global network with its own equity, bond and global investment capabilities to sharpen the group's overall wealth management competitiveness.
The company also plans to expand into high-growth business areas, building on its stable track record in traditional asset management. It aims to lay the groundwork to meet diverse investment needs from institutional clients while broadening its product lineup — including ETFs — to grow its individual customer base centered on retirement pension accounts, and to evolve into a comprehensive asset management platform.
As a first step, Kyobo Asset Management listed the Power SK Group ETF on the KOSPI Tuesday, signaling its intent to make ETFs a new growth engine. The product is designed to invest in SK Group's trajectory as it restructures its future business portfolio around AI. Investment targets span SK Group's broader AI ecosystem, including semiconductors, data centers and energy.
Starting with this product, Kyobo Asset Management plans to build out its lineup of index-type and thematic ETFs in earnest, positioning ETFs as a core growth pillar. The company said it will consistently bring to market products that reflect changing market conditions and investor demand, broadening the competitive foundation of its ETF business.
The company is also accelerating its push into the retirement pension and institutional markets. On the pension side, it will actively leverage its Power Index Fund while expanding its lineup with target-date funds — which allocate assets based on a client's retirement horizon — and global equity and bond products. For institutional clients, it plans to strengthen active equity offerings alongside bonds to enhance its solutions capabilities.
The company will also restructure its organization to align with the new growth strategy, reorganizing around ETFs, retirement pensions and institutional client solutions to maximize synergies across business lines and accelerate strategy execution.
"The core of this change is connecting our asset management capabilities organically with the group's financial businesses to broaden the choices available to customers," a Kyobo Asset Management official said. "Building on the investment expertise we have accumulated in traditional assets, we will continue to offer products and solutions tailored to customers' long-term investment goals."
Meanwhile, the name change also aligns with Kyobo Life's broader ambitions to convert into a financial holding company. Kyobo Life has acquired a 50 percent plus one share stake in SBI Savings Bank for around 900 billion won and is also pursuing the acquisition of AXA Non-Life Insurance — a company Kyobo Life originally acquired in 2001 before selling it to AXA Group in 2007.
won@heraldcorp.com
