Key Takeaways
- • South Korea's National Pension Service posted an 18.82 percent annual return last year, a third consecutive year of record-breaking performance, according to Seo Won-joo, the NPS chief investment officer.
- • Seo said uncertainty in the global economy and financial markets remains high, citing geopolitical tensions, rising protectionism and rapid advances in artificial intelligence.
- • The NPS plans to extend its total portfolio approach beyond alternatives to domestic and overseas equities and bonds, and is upgrading its cloud-based overseas investment platform linking London, New York, San Francisco and Singapore offices to Korea headquarters.
- • Kim Hong-gon of the Korea AI Quant Professionals Association said Korea's Virtual Asset User Protection Act sets "minimum safeguards" and called for more flexible, globally aligned crypto rules and broader institutional participation.
Summary
South Korea's National Pension Service said on Wednesday that uncertainty in global financial markets remains elevated, even as the fund posted a third straight year of record-breaking returns. Speaking at Asia Asset Management's 11th Korea Roundtable in Seoul, Seo Won-joo, the NPS chief investment officer, said market volatility has intensified this year amid geopolitical tensions, rising protectionism and rapid advances in artificial intelligence.
Seo said the NPS recorded an annual return of 18.82 percent last year. "However, uncertainties surrounding the global economy and financial markets remain high," he said. He added that the pension fund would continue strengthening risk management while upgrading its investment framework and infrastructure.
The NPS plans to expand its total portfolio approach beyond alternative investments to cover domestic and overseas equities and bonds. The fund is also upgrading its cloud-based overseas investment platform, which links offices in London, New York, San Francisco and Singapore with headquarters in Korea.
The roundtable also addressed digital assets and AI-driven investment strategies. Kim Hong-gon, head of the Korea AI Quant Professionals Association, said Korea's Virtual Asset User Protection Act has established "minimum safeguards" for the digital asset market, while calling for more flexible regulation aligned with global standards. He said broader institutional participation could help reduce crypto market volatility and expand multi-asset opportunities, while warning of risks spilling over into the traditional financial system. Kim also said won-based stablecoins could become key infrastructure linking payments, tokenized securities and central bank digital currencies, and that AI-powered quantitative investing and direct indexing could emerge as growth drivers for digital assets.
Seo said the NPS recorded an annual return of 18.82 percent last year. "However, uncertainties surrounding the global economy and financial markets remain high," he said. He added that the pension fund would continue strengthening risk management while upgrading its investment framework and infrastructure.
The NPS plans to expand its total portfolio approach beyond alternative investments to cover domestic and overseas equities and bonds. The fund is also upgrading its cloud-based overseas investment platform, which links offices in London, New York, San Francisco and Singapore with headquarters in Korea.
The roundtable also addressed digital assets and AI-driven investment strategies. Kim Hong-gon, head of the Korea AI Quant Professionals Association, said Korea's Virtual Asset User Protection Act has established "minimum safeguards" for the digital asset market, while calling for more flexible regulation aligned with global standards. He said broader institutional participation could help reduce crypto market volatility and expand multi-asset opportunities, while warning of risks spilling over into the traditional financial system. Kim also said won-based stablecoins could become key infrastructure linking payments, tokenized securities and central bank digital currencies, and that AI-powered quantitative investing and direct indexing could emerge as growth drivers for digital assets.
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