MMAA selects 8 external partners to back W130b

The Military Mutual Aid Association said Friday it has selected eight South Korean external partners dedicated to investment in private equities and venture capital to back a combined 130 billion won ($107.1 million) this year.

The Korean institutional investor will invest a total of 100 billion won to blind pool funds managed by private equity houses KStone Partners, Aju IB Investment, SkyLake Investment, KTB Private Equtiy and Dominus Investment.

In the meantime, a combined 30 billion won will go to venture capital vehicles by Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Premier Partners and SV Investment.

Each vehicle will be entitled to manage between 10-20 billion won from the Korean institutional investor.

“(MMAA) is investing in blind pool funds in a risk-averse approach so that assets we collected from members can be managed safely through the vehicles’ portfolio diversification,” MMAA Chief Investment Officer Kim Jae-dong said in a statement.

In 2019, MMAA worked with six external partners to invest a combined 120 billion won.

MMAA was managing 10.8 trillion won in assets, with alternative assets accounting for 46.6 percent, as of end-2018. The investor has scaled up its exposure to alternative assets, to two-thirds, within a couple of years.

Since its foundation in 1984, MMAA has provided mutual aid, financial relief and insurance to some 170,000 military personnel in Korea.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)