South Korean Pension Fund Posts 9.18% Return in Q3 2024

Seoul, South Korea - The National Pension Fund reported a 9.18% return for the first nine months of 2024, generating KRW 97.24 trillion ($69.3 billion) in investment gains.

The world's third-largest pension fund saw its assets under management climb to KRW 1,146.1 trillion ($816.6 billion), with cumulative investment income reaching KRW 675.2 trillion ($481.1 billion) since its inception in 1988.

Global equity emerged as the strongest-performing asset class, delivering a 21.35% return, while domestic equity lagged significantly, with a 0.46% gain amid a 2.34% year-to-date decline in the KOSPI index.

The National Pension Service (NPS) said in a statement that global fixed income returned 6.97%, alternative investments yielded 5.05%, and domestic fixed income achieved 4.09%.

The fund's performance was bolstered by expectations of U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts, a technology stock rally, and favorable currency movements. 

This year, the dollar gained 2.34% against the South Korean won.

The NPS said alternative investments, including real estate, private equity, and infrastructure, primarily reflected interest and dividend income along with foreign exchange gains, noting that final valuations for these assets would be assessed at year-end.

The results coincided with a 19.40% gain in the MSCI ACWI ex-Korea index in dollar terms, highlighting the fund's benefit from its global diversification strategy.