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Mirae Asset to launch 'Insight Fund'in November targeted at foreign markets

Mirae Asset Group will launch the Inside Fund in November aimed at making investments in promising foreign markets using information and investment know-how it secured from the information networks being operated by renowned foreign investment firms such as Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and UBS, the investment firm said recently.
Chairman Park Heon-joo of the asset management group, during his lecture at Ehwa Woman's University economic department, said the group is ready to launch the fund which was prepared with a number of famous IBs in the world from a year ago to sure maximum profit in search of the flow of funds at foreign financial markets.
He said the 'global swing fund'the first of its kind to be launched at domestic financial market, will be invested 100 percent in Russia if its market looks promising and it will be invested in Japan if its market looks good. He said he will personally be involved with running the fund. The mirae asset group top manager said he completed consultations with Goldman Sachs Asia Chairman Michael Evans on investment information research material and investment methods in foreign markets. He said he has completed similar talks with leaders of UBS and Merrill Lynch.
Mirae Asset officials said the global swing fund management cuts the time in making investments in global financial markets as regional time differences develop. But the investment technique needs an extensive research and global network and large global IBs such as those in the U.S. began to test the new investment method.
Chairman Park said he will let many female managers to run the fund as it requires the ability to size up investment opportunities and make quick decisions to make investments and female managers are best suited to run the fund he thought he said.
Mirae Asset Investment Consultancy opened on July 18, 1997 and offered the shares of Park Hyeon-joo Fund in the stock market, to create a whirlwind in the indirect investment stock market with more than 100 percent return on each share. The company suffered a set back in 2000 from the bubbles burst in technology shares. But the company came back with Mirae Asset Independence in 2001, which continue to grow to the extent that shares of funds took up 30.7 percent of the stock market based on July 13 data from 1.2 percent at the end of 2000.
The company has been speeding up its plans to set up branches in strategic locations around the world like Hong Kong, New Delhi, London, and Singapore. The company's operation has not always been smooth as it has some enemies too due to its rapid growth.
With shares of funds totaling over 20 trillion won, it is hard to make reports on shares held by Mirae Asset. Other complaints are that the fund shares do well when stock prices are rising, but suffer immensely when they are falling.
Mirae Asset has introduced Korean fund products to foreign investors for the first time. On July 4, Mirae Asset Investment Management announced that it will export 9 leading funds including the 'Independence Equity Fund'and the 'Discovery Equity Fund'which have produced more than 600 percent in cumulative returns over the last six years. In addition, Mirae Asset has noted that once authorization from the government has been granted, it will begin selling these funds in the US, UK, Hong Kong, Australia, and Singapore through its respective foreign offices.
These fund products invest in equities in Korea, China and India and are considered as radical financial business models, in which a Korean asset management company for the first time develops offshore funds raising money from foreigners to invest in Asian stock markets.
So far, well-known foreign asset management companies such as Fidelity have been selling offshore funds in Korea. The head of global marketing department, Edward Oh, has been quoted as saying "We will start selling fund products in Hong Kong and expand to other areas if it is successful." nw

Chairman Park Hyeon-joo of Mirae Asset Investment Management Co. Below photo is the head office building of Mirae Asset Life Insurance in Seoul.