Korea Investment Corp. Returns 11.6% in 2023

The sovereign wealth fund of the Republic of Korea, the Korea Investment Corp., announced Monday an annual return of 11.6% for 2023, marking an increase in assets of $20.1 billion to $189.4 billion at the end of the year.

The fund attributed the gains to equities, which returned 22.4% and had an allocation of 39.2% of total assets. Fixed income, in comparison, accounted for 31.5% of the portfolio and returned 6.3%.

Alternative investments accounted for 22% of the fund’s assets by year-end 2023. These assets returned an annualized 8.6% over the prior five years. Private equity, real estate and infrastructure, and hedge funds returned 13.5%, 5.5% and 5.7%, respectively, in 2023.

According to the fund, the KIC seeks to find alternative investments that are less cyclical and have a strong growth outlook on the back of industrial and technological advancement and development.

“In an increasingly challenging and volatile market environment, KIC has weathered well, as our proactive asset allocation strategies based on in-depth research on various macroeconomic scenarios kept our portfolio resilient for the long term,” KIC CEO Seoungho Jin said in a statement. “Amid heightened geopolitical uncertainties and an unfolding artificial intelligence-led industrial revolution, KIC will focus on finding new investment opportunities in fast-developing sectors, including AI, semiconductors and healthcare.”

The KIC manages public funds on behalf of the South Korean government, Bank of Korea and other public funds. It was established in 2005 and has accumulated gains of $77.9 billion since inception.