Mirae Asset Management Expands Global Footprint with 27 Overseas Subsidiaries
Mirae Asset Management has significantly expanded its global footprint, as revealed in its 2024 semi-annual report submitted to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system (DART) on August 19. The report highlights that the company now operates 27 overseas subsidiaries in 10 countries, marking an 80% increase in its overseas presence over the past five years.
Mirae Asset Management first ventured into the global market in December 2003 by establishing 'Mirae Asset Management Hong Kong,' becoming the first domestic asset management company to do so. This initial step set the stage for a series of strategic expansions and acquisitions that have solidified its position as a global player in the asset management industry.
In February 2005, the company launched the “Mirae Asset Asia Pacific Star Equity Fund,” the first overseas fund directly managed by a domestic asset management company's overseas subsidiary. This move was followed by the acquisition of Canada's “Horizons ETFs” in 2011, marking the beginning of Mirae Asset's journey to becoming a global ETF management company.
The company's global expansion continued with the acquisition of the United States' “Global X” in 2018 and Australia's “ETF Securities” in 2022. Notably, the acquisition of “ETF Securities” was the first instance where a domestic asset management company acquired an overseas ETF manager with profits earned overseas. Last year, Mirae Asset further diversified its portfolio by acquiring “Stockspot,” an Australian robo-advisor specialist, becoming the first domestic financial group to acquire an overseas robo-advisor specialist.
As of the end of June this year, Mirae Asset Management manages 585 ETFs in 16 countries and regions, including the United States, Vietnam, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United Kingdom, India, Japan, China, Canada, Colombia, Australia, and Hong Kong. The company's total assets under management (AUM) at the end of the first half of this year stood at 200.9343 trillion won (approximately $148.8 billion), with overseas investment AUM reaching 83.0797 trillion won, surpassing Samsung Asset Management's 69.6577 trillion won.
India hosts the most Mirae Asset Management locations with six subsidiaries, followed by Australia with five, and the United States with four. In comparison, Mirae Asset's overseas bases are 3.4 times more than Samsung Asset Management's and 5.4 times more than Hanwha Asset Management's.
A significant milestone in Mirae Asset's journey was celebrated last June when a congratulatory message for the listing of the “TIGER NASDAQ 100 +15% Premium Ultra-Short ETF” was displayed on the Nasdaq Tower billboard in New York, USA. This event underscored the company's growing influence and recognition in the global financial markets.
Korea’s Mirae Asset to open AI business unit in New York
WealthSpot in the US, Stockspot in Australia, Mirae Asset’s Indian unit to accelerate the group’s AI business expansion worldwide
Mirae Asset Group, the pioneer in South Korea’s mutual fund industry, plans to set up an artificial intelligence business unit in New York as the financial conglomerate aims to expand global investment services with robo-advisors for future growth.
“WealthSpot, Mirae Asset Group’s AI unit, is set to be opened in New York City,” the group founder and Global Strategy Officer Park Hyeon Joo told The Korea Economic Daily in an interview on Tuesday. “We will dispatch core Mirae Asset executives such as Kim Yeon Chu, head of derivatives, to lay the foundation for the business.”
Kim, who is touted as one of the group’s future leaders along with Kim Namki, head of Mirae Asset Global Investments Co.’s exchange-traded fund (ETF) business, has been appointed to head up WealthSpot.
The New York unit is poised to oversee the group’s AI business and handle the robo-advisor sector, global investment asset allocation and ETF development.
Robo-advisors are digital platforms that provide automated, algorithmic investment services with minimal human supervision.
Mirae Asset Securities' Overseas Stock Holdings Increase by Over 10 Trillion Won This Year
Mirae Asset Securities’ balance of foreign stocks has increased by approximately 10 trillion won ($7.32 billion) this year alone. Mirae Asset Securities plans to generate more than 50 percent of its total profits from overseas in the medium to long term.
According to Mirae Asset Securities on August 1, the balance of foreign stocks stood at 33.8 trillion won as of July 11. This figure represents an increase of 10.2 trillion won compared to the end of last year.
Mirae Asset Securities' balance of foreign stocks started at 1 trillion won in January 2017, surpassed 20 trillion won in April 2021, and has continued to grow steadily, exceeding 30 trillion won in June of this year. In 2024 alone, the foreign stock balance increased by 10.2 trillion won, while clients' valuation gains on these foreign stocks rose by approximately 8.7 trillion won during the same period.
Currently, Mirae Asset Securities operates 12 local subsidiaries and three offices abroad, giving it the largest overseas network among the 14 domestic securities firms that have successfully expanded internationally. The company's overseas subsidiaries have a combined capital of about 4.5 trillion won. In 2020, Mirae Asset Securities became the first in the industry to achieve annual pre-tax profits of 200 billion won from overseas operations. In 2021, it set a new record with pre-tax profits of 243.2 billion won, marking two consecutive years of exceeding 200 billion won in pre-tax profits from international ventures.
In particular, Mirae Asset Securities has been aggressively expanding into the Indian market, which has emerged as a “post-China” investment hub, by acquiring a local securities firm last year. The Indian subsidiary of Mirae Asset Securities has surpassed 1.6 million retail customer accounts. Following the launch of the online trading platform “m.Stock” in April 2022, it rose to 9th place among local online brokers and 16th overall within 26 months, establishing itself as the fastest-growing securities firm in India.
The Indian subsidiary handles an average of 2.2 million transactions daily. As of the end of June, it managed approximately 1.06 trillion won in total customer assets under management (AUM) and held around 267.8 billion won in margin trading facility (MTF).