Fund Market Surpasses 1,300 Trillion Won... Domestic Equity Funds Rebound

Fund Net Assets Up 25% Last Year
Highest Growth Rate Since 2007
Equity Fund Net Assets Rise by 102 Trillion Won, Surpassing Real Estate as Top Category

The domestic fund market recorded its highest growth rate in 18 years since 2007, with net assets surpassing 1,300 trillion won. Equity funds reclaimed the largest market share from real estate funds, which had held the top spot for an extended period, signaling that the benefits of a bullish stock market are spreading throughout the entire fund market.

According to the "2025 Fund Market Settlement" released by the Korea Financial Investment Association, the total net assets of all funds (both public and private) stood at 1,376.3 trillion won as of the end of 2025. This represents an increase of 277.6 trillion won (25.3%) compared to the end of the previous year (1,098.7 trillion won). This is the highest growth rate since 2007, when the market grew by 31.9%.

Both public and private funds saw significant increases in net assets. Public funds grew by 39.9% year-on-year to 609.4 trillion won, while private funds increased by 15.6% to 766.9 trillion won. As the proportion of public funds rose, the ratio between public and private funds was 44.3% and 55.7%, respectively.

The main driver of growth in public funds was exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The net assets of ETFs surged by 71.2% year-on-year to 297.1 trillion won at the end of 2025, up from 173.6 trillion won at the end of the previous year. By ETF type, equity ETFs accounted for the largest share at 53.8%, followed by derivatives (23.1%) and bonds (17.6%). Public funds excluding ETFs also continued to grow, with net assets reaching 312.2 trillion won, a 19.2% increase from the previous year.

As of the end of 2025, by fund type, equity funds had net assets of 236.4 trillion won, bond funds 215.5 trillion won, and money market funds (MMFs) 195.7 trillion won. Over the past year, equity funds saw the largest increase in net assets by type, rising by 102.5 trillion won. This was followed by bond funds (42.9 trillion won) and fund of funds (28.2 trillion won). The share of equity funds expanded by 5.0 percentage points, from 12.2% at the end of the previous year to 17.2%, making it the largest category among all funds. Equity funds overtook real estate funds (16.5%), which had been the largest category as of the end of 2024.

Capital flows also showed a clear trend. In 2025, a net total of 168.9 trillion won flowed into all funds (public and private). Notably, all fund types recorded net inflows of capital.

By fund type, equity funds and bond funds both saw similar net inflows, at 38.5 trillion won and 38.4 trillion won, respectively, forming a "two-top" structure. Money market funds (20.4 trillion won) and fund of funds (18.8 trillion won) followed.

By investment region, domestic investment fund net assets rose by 174.9 trillion won (25.1%) year-on-year to 872.2 trillion won. Overseas investment funds also increased by 102.7 trillion won (25.6%) to 504.1 trillion won. The overall share within all funds was 63.4% domestic and 36.6% overseas.

Domestic equity funds are showing signs of breaking out of a prolonged stagnation. The size of domestic equity funds decreased from 70.1 trillion won at the end of 2023 to 62.3 trillion won at the end of 2024, but more than doubled (101.8%) to 125.6 trillion won by the end of 2025.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.