DC, IRP reserves climb from 12.8 trillion to 18.5 trillion won
IRP accounts expand to about 570,000
Pension platform overhaul drives earnings gains
Korea Investment & Securities said Monday that its combined reserves in defined-contribution (DC) and individual retirement pension (IRP) accounts reached 18.52 trillion won ($13.8 billion) as of the end of the third quarter, up 44.8 percent from 12.79 trillion won at the end of last year — the highest reserve growth rate among all retirement pension providers.
The firm noted that while the market value of performance-linked products temporarily declined amid domestic and overseas stock market corrections in the second half of the year, fresh capital inflows continued throughout the period.
IRP accounts at Korea Investment & Securities totaled 571,880 as of the end of the third quarter, a sharp increase from 472,736 at the end of last year. The growth has been consistent across every quarter — 523,389 accounts in the first quarter, 556,943 in the second — reflecting a sustained inflow trend.
The firm attributed the results to a broader shift in the retirement pension market, where the prevailing model of simple principal-guaranteed savings is giving way to an active approach centered on investment and portfolio management.
Structural changes — including the introduction of an in-kind pension transfer system — have reinforced that shift, with a growing number of subscribers moving their accounts after comparing product lineups, investment performance and asset management capabilities across financial institutions.
Korea Investment & Securities said it has recorded the highest investment performance across all financial sectors under the government's "default option" system, a pre-designated investment regime designed to improve retirement pension returns. Its "Aggressive Investment BF1" performance-linked portfolio posted a three-year cumulative return of 123.34 percent, ranking first among all retirement pension providers.
The firm offers a lineup of more than 1,035 ETFs tradable within retirement pension accounts as of Tuesday. It also operates an ETF accumulation service that allows investors to make scheduled, split purchases of their preferred funds.
In addition, a recent overhaul of its mobile trading system (MTS) introduced a real-time total pension asset valuation feature — reflecting asset changes based on executed trades — along with personalized notification services, significantly improving the user experience.
"The trend of pension subscribers moving their funds to financial institutions with proven asset management capabilities and verified returns is becoming increasingly clear," said Choi Jong-jin, head of the pension innovation division at Korea Investment & Securities.
Korea Investment & Securities also held a "Retirement Pension Academy" on Oct. 8 at TP Tower in Yeouido, Seoul, targeting corporate HR and finance officers and other retirement pension practitioners. The event was designed to share corporate response strategies in light of the government's push to amend the Act on the Guarantee of Workers' Retirement Benefits and related labor policy changes.
jiyun@heraldcorp.com
