National Pension Fund

The total asset of the National Pension Fund broke the 400 trillion won mark in 25 years and one month after the establishment of the fund back in January 1988 in accordance with the National Pension Act.

According to the National Pension Service, the asset had exceeded 300 trillion won in July 2010 and took 31 more months to top 400 trillion won on February 20, 2013. The amount is equivalent to one-third of last year’s national GDP and 176% of Samsung Electronics’ market capitalization for 2012. Also, it is about 8.37 times that of Hyundai Motor Company and 88% that of Apple, which has the largest total market value in the world. Divided by the number of pension fund holders, the sum adds up to approximately 20 million won per person.

The National Pension Fund is currently ranked fourth in terms of total amount, following Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) and the Netherlands’ ABP. However, its gap with the third ranker was just three trillion won as of the end of last year.

“We’ve achieved a remarkable rate of return last year, 8.18% in the overseas segment and 6.79 in the domestic, by striking a perfect balance between stability and profitability by means of investment diversification and portfolio readjustment,” said the company, adding, “The average rate of return was 6.99% and the revenues accruing from the operation was 25 trillion won in 2012, which are second to none among all pension funds in Korea. Moreover, the five-year average yield was one of the highest in the world.”

In the meantime, its chairman of the board Jun Gwang-woo submitted his resignation to the President on February 22. During his term that started in early December 2009, the total asset of the fund increased from 274 trillion won to 400 trillion won.

The amount had been 527.9 billion won in the first year of the establishment of the fund and then increased to over 100 trillion won in May 2003 and 200 trillion won in April 2007. As of the end of 2012, it was 391.9677 trillion won. The annual earnings derived from the operation had been 0.18% below zero, 10.39%, 10.37%, 2.31% and 6.99% between 2008 and 2012. The five-year average is 6.03%

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