Korea Investment Corp. reports 9.13% gain for 2021

Korea Investment Corporation, the Seoul-based sovereign wealth fund, reported a 9.13% investment gain for 2021 on the back of strong equity market returns, ending the year with its portfolio valued at $205 billion.

A KIC news release Thursday credited “solid performance and continued asset entrustments by the government” for lifting the fund’s portfolio above the $200 billion mark for the first time.

A KIC spokeswoman declined to provide details regarding government infusions to the fund over the past year. But a 9.13% gain on the $183.1 billion in assets KIC reported as of Dec. 31, 2020 would have raised the portfolio’s value to $199.70, suggesting a roughly $5 billion injection of new money by the government during the year.

For 2021, KIC reported $16.9 billion in investment gains, with an 18.61% return on the 40.6% of the fund’s portfolio allocated to equities more than offsetting a 4.62% decline on its 34.9% allocation to bonds.

At the end of 2020, KIC had 42.7% of its portfolio invested in stocks and 35.2% in bonds.

KIC’s allocations to alternatives, meanwhile, grew to 17.5% of the portfolio from 15.3% the year before. The fund doesn’t provide calendar year return figures for its alternatives assets, noting only that they have delivered an annualized gain of 8.83% since inception.

By alternatives segment, KIC reported annualized returns since inception of 11.33% for private equity, 7.76% for real estate and infrastructure and 5.64% for hedge funds.

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