With more South Korean retail investors flocking to US shares and other overseas stock markets, the balance of foreign equities held by Mirae Asset Securities customers has reached 40 trillion won ($27.6 billion), according to the country’s leading brokerage house Thursday.
Investors at Mirae Asset Securities held over 40 trillion won in foreign equities, marking an over 10 trillion won gain from the 30 trillion won recorded in June, the firm said.
The brokerage firm also saw its customers’ investment returns from overseas shares increase by over 14.6 trillion won from the beginning of this year for a gain of 61.4 percent. The percentage gain is sharply higher than the year-to-date returns of major stock indices, including the Nasdaq Composite (33 percent), the S&P 500 (27 percent) and Korea's benchmark Kospi (minus 7 percent).
Among Mirae Asset Securities customers, 610,005 individuals held foreign equity balances exceeding 100 million won, reflecting a 64 percent year-on-year increase. Among customers with over 100 million won in assets in any form, including domestic stocks and bonds, around 60 percent were able to scale up their assets by investing in foreign stock markets, the firm said.
"With the sharp growth of foreign shares and easier access to investment information based on artificial intelligence, customers are rapidly expanding their foreign equity portfolios," an official from Mirae Asset Securities said.
“Global asset (portfolios) are more than just an investment vehicle. They are like insurance that can protect assets and respond to economic changes. We will do our utmost to support our customers in their later years and grow their assets.”
To meet growing local investor demand for overseas equities, Mirae Asset Securities has been proactively expanding its international operations. As of March this year, it operates a total of 12 overseas subsidiaries, spanning the US, Brazil, the UK, Greece, Mongolia, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong and China.
In particular, Mirae Asset Securities has been aggressively expanding into the Indian market. The firm announced in November that it had completed the acquisition of Indian brokerage house Sharekhan Limited. The merged entity has been rebranded as Mirae Asset Sharekhan.
