보건복지부 영문홈페이지

NPS Posts 8.66% Return for Q1-Q3 2023

- The strong performance of financial markets continued, backed by expectations of a slowdown in the tightening cycle and rising appetite for risky assets.

- The Fund generated investment income of KRW 80.4 trillion for the nine-month period, increasing the total value to KRW 984.2 trillion as of Sept. 30, 2023, including KRW 531.7 trillion in cumulative investment income since inception.

□ The NPS Investment Management, a dedicated fund management arm of National Pension Service (NPS; Chairman &　Chief Executive Officer Kim Tae-hyun), announced on Nov. 29, 2023 that the National Pension Fund earned a preliminary return of 8.66% for the first three quarters of 2023.

○ The return was equivalent to KRW 80.4 trillion, bringing the total value of the Fund’s assets to KRW 984.2 trillion as of Sept. 30, 2023, including KRW 531.7 trillion in cumulative investment income since inception.

□ Despite concerns over a global recession since the start of the year, the Fund achieved a return exceeding 8.00% on the back of buoyant equity markets boosted by improving risk appetite among investors due to a slower pace of tightening and strong corporate earnings, as well as a strengthening U.S. dollar relative to the local currency.

□ By asset class and on a money-weighted return basis, the top performing asset class was global equities with a return of 16.07%, followed by domestic equities at 13.43%, alternative assets at 7.39%, global fixed income at 7.25%, and domestic fixed income at 2.54%.

○ Even amid the headwinds from rising U.S. Treasury yields and higher oil prices, domestic and global stock indexes posted gains, driven by solid corporate earnings of listed companies and increasing appetite for risky assets.

○ In the face of both hopes of slower tightening and concerns over interest rates staying higher for longer, domestic and global fixed income markets fluctuated, reacting to U.S. economic data, such as Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI), and comments from U.S. Fed officials on monetary policy.

□ As for alternatives, fair values are not reflected in quarterly results, and most of the investment income derives from interest and dividend income, and foreign exchange gains from a rise in the USD/KRW exchange rate.

○ The fair values of alternative assets are assessed at the year-end.

□ The third quarter result for the January-September period was somewhat adjusted, compared to a return of 6.35% for January-March and 9.09% for January-June, primarily affected by the Fed’s ongoing stance of raising interest rates. However, the Fund is currently generating a higher return relative to that of the January-June period.

<Appendix> National Pension Fund as of September 30, 2023