2023 Annual Report
Investment Highlights
Investments
Governance & Organization
INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS
Key Figures
KIC was established in 2005 under the Korea Investment Corporation Act. As of December 2023, we had assets under management of USD 189.4 billion (KRW 246 trillion), with cumulative net investment income of approximately USD 77.9 billion.
Following a principle of diversification, KIC invests 78% of its portfolio in traditional assets including global equities and fixed income, and the remaining 22% in alternative assets including global private equity, real estate, infrastructure, and hedge funds. We build a balanced portfolio across geographies and assets.
Return on total assets
(Unit: %)
| Category | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual return before expenses |
2019 : 15.39 | 2020 : 13.71 | 2021 : 9.13 | 2022 : -14.36 | 2023 : 11.59 |
| Annual return after expenses |
2019 : 15.21 | 2020 : 13.52 | 2021 : 8.94 | 2022 : -14.46 | 2023 : 11.44 |
| 10-year annualized return |
2019 : 5.60 | 2020 : 6.13 | 2021 : 7.50 | 2022 : 4.68 | 2023 : 4.92 |
| Annualized return since inception |
2019 : 4.60 | 2020 : 5.22 | 2021 : 5.47 | 2022 : 4.12 | 2023 : 4.54 |
| Total AUM USD billion | 2019 : 157.3 | 2020 : 183.1 | 2021 : 205.0 | 2022 : 169.3 | 2023 : 189.4 |
10-year annualized return
KIC has achieved consistent and stable returns within appropriate risk limits. Since inception, we have consistently delivered returns above inflation.
AUM and returns
Asset allocation in 2023
(Unit: USD billion, %)
| Category | Net asset value | Weight | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Assets | Equity | 742 | 39.2 |
| Fixed income | 59.8 | 31.5 | |
| Subtotal* | 147.7 | 78.0 | |
| Alternative Assets | Private equity | 17.9 | 9.4 |
| Real estate, infrastructure | 17.7 | 9.4 | |
| Hedge funds | 5.3 | 2.8 | |
| Subtotal* | 41.7 | 22.0 | |
| Total | 189.4 | 100.0 | |
* The subtotals include other assets such as inflation-linked bonds and cash.
Assets allocation compared to the previous year
Return on traditional assets
The return on traditional assets in 2023 was 14.35%, -6 bps compared to the benchmark
| Category | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | Annualized return for the past 5 years |
Annualized return since inception |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Return% | 16.62 | 14.62 | 6.75 | -17.58 | 14.35 | 6.10 | 4.63 |
| Excess returnbp | 33 | 144 | -39 | -52 | -6 | 10 | 15 | |
| Equities | Return% | 27.52 | 19.16 | 18.61 | -19.27 | 22.44 | 12.24 | 5.55 |
| Excess returnbp | 6 | 261 | -92 | -137 | -13 | -7 | -12 | |
| Fixed income | Return% | 7.53 | 9.88 | -4.62 | -16.65 | 6.34 | -0.02 | 2.59 |
| Excess returnbp | 73 | 78 | 39 | 14 | 14 | 42 | 31 | |
Return on alternative assets
Annualized return since inception: 7.83%
(Unit: %)
| Category | Inception | Annualized return since inception |
|---|---|---|
| Private equity | 2009. 09. 16. | 9.57 |
| Real estate, infrastructure | 2010. 03. 15. | 7.19 |
| Hedge funds | 2010. 01. 29. | 5.40 |
| Total for alternative assets | 7.83 |
* Total includes commodities (Categorized as traditional assets since April 2011)
Benchmarks for each asset class
| Asset class | Type | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional Assets |
Equities | Morgan Stanley Capital International All Country World Index ex Koreaunhedged |
| Fixed income | Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Index ex KRW ex Koreaunhedged | |
| Inflation-linked bonds | Bloomberg Barclays Global Inflation-Linked Bond Index | |
| Cash | ICE BofA Merrill Lynch 3-Month US Treasury Bill | |
| Alternative Assets |
Private Equity | Morgan Stanley Capital International All Country World Index ex Koreaunhedged + 2%, 3 months lagged |
| Real estate, infrastructure | G7 inflation rate + 4%, 3 months lagged | |
| Hedge funds | BofA Merrill Lynch 3-Month US Treasury Bill + 3.5%, 1month lagged |
* Private debt has been managed as a separate asset class since January 2024. (Benchmark: Morningstar Global Leveraged Loan Index + 1.25%, 3 months lagged)
Investments by region
Based on the market value of traditional assets as of the end of December 2023
List of invested countries
(As of the end of December 2023)
| Equity & fixed-income investments |
Greece, South Africa, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, United States, Belgium, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Ireland, United Kingdom, Austria, Israel, Italy, India, Indonesia, Japan, China, Taiwan, Czech Republic, Chile, Qatar, Canada, Colombia, Kuwait, Thailand, Peru, Portugal, Poland, France, Finland, Philippines, Hungary, Australia, Hong Kong
 |
|---|---|
| Equity investments | Jersey, Turkey |
| Fixed-income investments |
Guernsey, Latvia, Romania, Lithuania, Macau, Bermuda, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Cyprus, Argentina, Iceland, Andorra, Estonia, Uruguay, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Croatia, Panama
 |
Korea Investment Corporation | 15F, 17-19F, State Tower Namsan, 100 Toegye-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, 04631, Korea
TEL. +82-2-2179-1000FAX. +82-2-2179-1065
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