The net profit for the third quarter, July-September, of this year for asset management companies surged by over 500 billion Korean won compared to the same period last year.
The Financial Supervisory Service announced on the 1st the ‘2025 Third Quarter Asset Management Company Business Performance’ and stated that the net profit for asset management companies in the third quarter of this year was preliminarily calculated at 944.7 billion Korean won.
The net profit for asset management companies in the third quarter of last year was 413.4 billion Korean won, marking an increase of 532.3 billion Korean won, 128.5%, over the year. Compared to the previous quarter, 855.5 billion Korean won, this represents a 10.4% increase.
Operating profit was recorded at 996.3 billion Korean won. This is a 34.8% increase compared to the previous quarter, 738.9 billion Korean won, and a 154.9% increase compared to the same period last year, 390.9 billion Korean won.
The strong performance of asset management companies in the third quarter was largely influenced by the overall rise in the domestic stock market, driven by expectations for government policies and improved performance in key industries such as semiconductors. A source from the FSS stated, “Profitability improvements due to increases in assets under management, management fees, and proprietary asset investment income are continuing.”
Fee revenue in the third quarter was 1.5137 trillion Korean won, an increase of 396.8 billion Korean won, 35.5%, compared to the same period last year. Selling, general, and administrative expenses recorded 740.5 billion Korean won, an increase of 35.9 billion Korean won, 5.1%, over the same period.
Out of 501 asset management companies, 299 (59.7%) recorded profits, while the remaining 202 (40.3%) posted losses. Notably, while the loss ratio among 78 public offering asset management companies decreased by 6.4 percentage points to 14.1% compared to the previous quarter, the loss ratio among 423 private equity asset management companies increased by 2.3 percentage points to 45.2%.
The total assets under management of 505 asset management companies amounted to 1,868.8 trillion Korean won, an increase of 69.4 trillion Korean won, 3.9%, compared to the previous quarter. Fund assets under management increased by 5.0% from 1,168.7 trillion Korean won to 1,226.8 trillion Korean won during this period, while discretionary investment contract assets increased by 1.8% to 642 trillion Korean won compared to the previous quarter.
A source from the FSS explained, “The performance gap between asset management companies widened, with the top 30 companies accounting for approximately 80% of the third quarter’s net profit.” They added, “The growth of the public offering fund market is dependent on exchange-traded funds (ETFs), while the traditional public offering fund market has stagnated.”
Regarding future supervision directions, they stated, “We will create conditions for balanced development and enhanced global management capabilities and competitiveness among asset management companies, while thoroughly monitoring fund inflow and outflow trends to ensure the protection of financial investors.”
