Korea Investment & Securities’ retirement pension assets rise 44.8%, surpassing 18.5 trillion won

[Financial News] Korea Investment & Securities’ defined contribution (DC) and individual retirement pension (IRP) assets surpassed 18.5 trillion won as of the end of the third quarter this year.
That was a 44.8% increase from the end of last year, and the company said it had recorded the highest asset growth rate among all retirement pension providers.
Korea Investment & Securities, a subsidiary of Korea Investment Holdings, said on the 19th that its combined DC and IRP assets totaled 18.516 trillion won at the end of the third quarter this year.
That was an increase of 5.7292 trillion won from 12.7868 trillion won at the end of last year, representing growth of 44.8%.
DC and IRP assets, which workers manage themselves, continued to grow even as the valuation of investment-linked products temporarily declined amid adjustments in domestic and overseas stock markets in the second half of the year. The increase was driven by a steady inflow of new funds.
The number of IRP accounts is also growing rapidly. At the end of the third quarter, Korea Investment & Securities had 571,880 IRP accounts, up from 472,736 at the end of last year. The number continued to rise each quarter, from 523,389 in the first quarter to 556,943 in the second quarter this year.
Korea Investment & Securities said it believes the retirement pension market is shifting from savings centered on principal-and-interest-guaranteed products toward investment and asset management focused on actively pursuing returns.
The company also attributed inflows in part to subscribers transferring their accounts after comparing the product offerings, investment performance and asset management capabilities of different financial firms, following the introduction of the retirement pension in-kind transfer system.
Investment performance is also seen as supporting fund inflows. According to Korea Investment & Securities, the three-year cumulative return of “Aggressive Investment Type BF1,” an investment-linked portfolio under the default option, was 123.34%, ranking first among products offered by all retirement pension providers.
The company is also working to improve its investment infrastructure and platform. As of October 13, 2026, Korea Investment & Securities offered around 1,035 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that could be traded through retirement pension accounts. It also operates an “ETF Accumulation Service,” which lets investors buy their chosen securities in installments at intervals they set.
The company recently revamped its mobile trading system (MTS) and introduced a “Real-Time Valuation of Total Pension Assets” feature, which lets users track changes in their assets based on completed trades, as well as personalized alerts.
Choi Jong-jin, head of the Pension Innovation Division at Korea Investment & Securities, said, “The trend of pension subscribers moving their funds to financial firms with substantive asset management capabilities and proven returns is becoming increasingly clear. We will be a trusted partner responsible for our customers’ retirement assets throughout their lives, backed by differentiated, customized asset management services and innovative investment infrastructure.”

[email protected] Kang Jung-mo Reporter