According to the article from Edaily by reporter Kim Kyung-eun, Korea Investment & Securities announced that as of the first quarter, the number of individual retirement pension (IRP) subscribers reached over 523,000, marking the highest number in the securities industry. The increase in subscribers is attributed to growing interest in direct investment in retirement pensions and the differentiation in product competitiveness and returns.
At the end of last year, the IRP subscribers were around 473,000, but in just three months, the number increased by over 51,000, surpassing 500,000. In the same period, IRP deposits grew from 7.4302 trillion KRW to 8.8135 trillion KRW, an increase of 1.3833 trillion KRW. The deposit growth rate of 18.6% is the highest within the financial sector.
Outstanding returns have been the key driving force of this growth. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s ‘Default Option Major Status,’ Korea Investment & Securities’ default option ‘Aggressive Investment Type BF1’ product has maintained the highest investment return position in the securities industry for eight consecutive quarters. As of the first quarter of this year, the one-year return rate is 26.62%.
Efforts to create a convenient digital investment environment also contributed. Considering the current trend of growing demand for Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), they launched the industry’s first ‘ETF Regular Automatic Investment Service,’ allowing customers to automatically purchase ETFs based on their desired frequency and amount. As of April 14, they have a lineup of 965 ETF products. They are also collaborating with specialized firms to build the industry’s largest lineup of robo-advisors.
Korea Investment & Securities restructured its pension-related organization at the end of last year and is now providing systematic and professional management services. The plan is to thoroughly manage customers’ retirement by expanding management beyond retirement pensions to include personal pension assets. Choi Jong-jin, head of the Pension Innovation Division, stated, “As the retirement pension market environment shifts from the existing defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) and IRP focus, it has become more important to provide differentiated services to the customers who are the main operators,” adding, “We will further strengthen our integrated pension management system and consulting capabilities through meticulous analysis of customer needs and continuous communication.”