Data Centre: Korean instos look to riskier assets

Korea's asset owners have increasingly demonstrated themselves as being some of the more assertive institutional investors when it comes to their portfolios. How much so is noteworthy, once analysed. 

A mixture of extremely low local interest rates and unpredictable local stock market returns have forced local investors to seek out a broader array of assets if they are to meet the needs of their rising number of retirees, or relatively generous insurance policies.

Korea's leading pension fund, the National Pension Service, is scaling up its allocations to alternative assets such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. Korea's life insurers are doing so as well, although to a slightly less aggressive degree. At the same time offshore assets such as equities are also getting an increased look-in, with local bonds being the main asset area to be dropped to fund the shift. 

For more statistics on how Korea's asset owners are shifting their investing habits, please click here.