South Korea’s fund market expanded sharply in the first quarter, with total net assets nearing 1,500 trillion won as inflows concentrated in equity funds and money market funds, and exchange-traded funds posted strong growth.
The Korea Financial Investment Association said Thursday in its “2026 first-quarter fund market trends” report that total net assets for public and private funds stood at 1,493.9 trillion won at the end of March, up 117.6 trillion won, or 8.5%, from 1,376.3 trillion won the previous quarter. The quarterly growth rate accelerated from 6.3% in the second quarter of last year, 5.9% in the third and 5.2% in the fourth.
Both public and private funds increased. Public funds rose to 705.5 trillion won, up 96.1 trillion won, or 15.8%, from the prior quarter. Private funds climbed to 788.4 trillion won, up 21.5 trillion won, or 2.8%.
By category, net assets increased across most types, with bond funds the exception, falling 3.9 trillion won. Equity funds posted the largest gain, rising 56.0 trillion won, followed by money market funds, or MMFs, up 34.5 trillion won, and derivatives funds, up 10.2 trillion won. Public-fund growth was led by equity funds and MMFs, while private funds grew mainly in MMFs and special-asset funds.
Net inflows also showed a tilt toward equity funds and MMFs. Total funds recorded net inflows of 85.4 trillion won in the quarter, while bond funds alone saw net outflows of 2.5 trillion won. Public funds took in 72.3 trillion won and private funds 13.1 trillion won. By investment region, domestically focused funds drew 73.2 trillion won and overseas funds 12.1 trillion won.
By type, net inflows went to equity funds at 32.9 trillion won, MMFs at 32.7 trillion won, derivatives funds at 7.5 trillion won and mixed funds at 4.4 trillion won. Public funds attracted money mainly into equity funds and MMFs, while private funds saw inflows centered on MMFs and mixed-asset funds.
The share of domestically focused funds also increased. As of the end of March, domestic-investment funds held net assets of 976.1 trillion won, up 103.9 trillion won, or 11.9%, accounting for 65.3% of the total. Overseas-investment funds rose 13.7 trillion won, or 2.7%, to 517.8 trillion won, lowering their share to 34.7%.
Domestic equity funds climbed to 177.8 trillion won, a 41.5% jump from 125.6 trillion won the previous quarter, helping drive overall market growth. Overseas funds posted more modest gains, led by equity and special-asset funds.
ETF growth was particularly strong. ETF net assets totaled 360.7 trillion won at the end of March, up 63.6 trillion won, or 21.4%, from 297.1 trillion won the previous quarter. Within ETFs, equity products accounted for the largest share at 58.2%, followed by derivatives at 21.3% and bond ETFs at 14.6%.
Net assets in public funds excluding ETFs rose to 344.7 trillion won, up 32.5 trillion won, or 10.4%. Public funds accounted for 47.2% of total fund assets, up 2.9 percentage points from the previous quarter, narrowing the gap with private funds.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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