President Moon makes 8% return from W50m investment

A local equity fund, which gained recognition for President Moon Jae-in’s investment, has achieved an earnings rate three times higher than the industry average.

NH-Amundi Asset Management said through a release Sunday that its NH-Amundi Victorious Korea Equity Fund logged a 3.88 percent return rate over the past month, Friday.

The average return of equity funds here stood at 1.28 percent as of this month, according to financial information vender FN Guide. The given research was conducted on 959 equity funds with a set amount of 1 billion won ($848,000) or greater. The corresponding figure for overseas equity funds was even lower, standing at 0.36 percent.

The NH-Amundi Victorious Korea Equity Fund was launched on Aug. 14 with about 30 billion won in initial capital.

The financial product was designed to invest in local companies that manufacture industrial equipment, components and materials to replace imports from Japan. Its current list of investment includes large-cap stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix as well as smaller parts maker stocks such as Soulbrain and Dongjin Semichem.

President Moon invested 50 million won into the fund on Aug. 26 to display his confidence in and support for domestic firms in light of Japan’s trade curbs against Korea.

Following the president’s investment, the fund grew popular and amassed more than 40 billion won in September, marking the steepest expansion among local equity funds.

The president’s current rate of return is estimated at 8 percent, or around 4 million won.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)