Employees of exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider Global X, Mirae Asset Global Investments' U.S. unit, pose in front of the New York Stock Exchange in this undated file photo. Courtesy of Mirae Asset Global Investments
Mirae Asset Global Investments has over 380 trillion won ($264.25 billion) in assets under management after entering the global market nearly 20 years ago, the company said Thursday.
The asset management arm of Mirae Asset Financial Group said about 40 percent, or 173 trillion won, of the 380 trillion won is being managed outside of Korea as of the end of November.
It is the only domestic asset management firm with such an aggressive presence in the global market, the company added.
“The achievement was made possible with Global Strategy Officer Park Hyeon-joo’s long-term vision,” the firm said, referring to its founder and chairman, who led the group to become Korea’s leading financial conglomerate after it started in 1997 as a mutual funds management company.
“The finance sector, unlike other industries, is where tapping into the overseas market is tricky, and Mirae Asset Global Investments once faced widespread skepticism concerning its ability to compete with Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and other big-name players,” the company said.
Mirae Asset Global Investments operates in 16 countries after opening its first overseas entity in Hong Kong in 2023.
The 16 include the United States, China, Japan, India, Australia, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and Colombia.
The company’s global business is largely driven by its exchange-traded fund (ETF) operations, which are active in markets like the U.S., Canada and Hong Kong.
As of the end of November, Mirae Asset manages 620 global ETFs with total net assets of 197 trillion won, a figure larger than the entire domestic ETF market, which stands at around 172 trillion won.
The company expanded its global presence by acquiring promising ETF management companies, starting with Canada’s Horizons ETFs in 2011.
It also acquired U.S.-based Global X in 2018 and Australia’s ETF Securities in 2022.
In particular, the acquisition of ETF Securities was the first instance where a Korean asset management firm acquired a foreign ETF management company using profits earned from overseas operations.
