Mirae Asset's Canadian ETF unit surpasses W30tr in AUM

Mirae Asset Global Investments' Canadian subsidiary Horizons ETFs saw its assets under management surpass 30 trillion won ($22.8 billion) this month, marking ninefold growth in over 10 years.

Horizons ETFs has become the fourth-largest ETF operator in Canada with its AUM standing at $22.8 billion as of Jan. 10, from $2.2 billion when Mirae Asset Global Investments had acquired the unit in 2011, according to the Korean firm on Friday. The latest figure translates to roughly $30 billion Canadian dollars.

The number of exchange-traded fund products managed by the Toronto-based firm has surged from 70 to 121 over the period.

According to the asset manager, Canada is a major ETF market, along with the US and Europe. Some 1,100 ETF products worth $296 billion were listed on the Canadian market as of November, it said, citing research firm ETFGI.

“Canada has relatively eased regulations on (finance) products and fund structures, allowing asset managers to introduce diverse products,” the company said.

While major local lenders' affiliates dominate the Canadian ETF market by more than 50 percent, Horizons ETFs has established itself to be a major name, along with US asset manager Vanguard Group.

One of its strategies is introducing a differentiated line-up of products, including the Horizons Equal Weight Banks, which invests in the big six banking stocks in Canada, and the Horizons High Interest Savings, which seeks to maximize income by investing in high-interest deposit accounts.

In return, Horizons ETFs achieved 27 percent annual growth, outrunning the Canadian ETF market's average growth of 20.8 percent over the past five years, Mirae Asset Global Investments explained.

As a result, the asset manager’s AUM in and out of Korea stood at 305 trillion won ($227 billion) as of end-December. Of the amount, some 120 trillion won, 40 percent, are being managed overseas.

Mirae Asset Global Investments operates more than 570 ETF products across 16 countries, including the US, Vietnam, Brazil, Arab Emirates, the UK, India, Japan, China, Canada, Colombia, Australia and Hong Kong. The net asset mounts up to 141 trillion won, which is larger than the size of the Korean ETF market totaled at 120 trillion won.

"Mirae Asset Global Investments has continuously worked to become a global finance company that can represent Korea since expanding its business overseas for the first time as a Korean asset manager in 2003,” an official from Mirae Asset Global Investments said.

"We will continue to work to introduce competitive financial products and discover outstanding assets across the world.”