Demand for Online Funds Exploding
The amount of online-only funds set up by Mirae Asset Daewoo Co. has surpassed 870 billion won (US$765.17 million), taking first place in the domestic securities industry.
The figure grew from 355 billion won (US$312.23 million) at the end of 2016 to 584.60 billion won (US$514.16 million) in 2017 and 807.10 billion won (US$709.85 million) in 2018, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA) on April 2. It stood at 877.30 billion won (US$771/59 million) on April 1, up 8.7 percent from the end of last year.
Pension funds showed a remarkable growth. The amount of online-only pension savings funds came to 283 billion won (US$248.90 million), increasing roughly five times from 57.90 billion won (US$50.92 million) at the end of 2016. The amount of online-only retirement pension funds also totaled 197 billion won (US$173.26 million). The combined amount of online-only pension savings funds and retirement pension funds reached 480 billion won (US$422.16 million), accounting for more than half of the total.
A spokesperson from the company said, “Considering the current growth rate, the amount of online-only funds will exceed 1 trillion won (US$879.51 million) without difficulty by the end of the year. With the demand for non-face-to-face asset management services based on mobile platforms exploding, we are strengthening digital asset management products and services.”