The National Pension Fund delivered an investment return of more than 11% for the first three quarters of 2025, reflecting consistent and stable fund management.
The NPS Investment Management, a dedicated fund management arm of the National Pension Service (NPS, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Kim Tae-hyun), today announced that the Fund achieved a preliminary money-weighted return of 11.31% for the nine-month period ending September 30, 2025, and its value increased by KRW 148.4 trillion from the end of 2024, bringing the total assets under management to approximately KRW 1,361 trillion.
Investment income earned during the January-September period was KRW 138.7 trillion, raising cumulative investment income since the inception of the National Pension Plan in 1988 to KRW 876 trillion.
The primary driver of performance was robust equity gains, fueled by a surge in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor stocks across both domestic and overseas stock markets.
By asset class, domestic equity returned 47.30%, followed by global equity at 12.95%, domestic fixed income at 2.51%, alternative investments at 1.46%, and global fixed income at 0.27%.
The top-performing asset class, domestic equity, posted a return of near 50% on the back of optimism around the new administration’s policy initiatives and a strong rally in semiconductor and tech-driven stocks. Overseas equity also recorded double-digit returns, boosted by the AI and tech boom amid the U.S. Federal Reserve’s resumption of interest rate cuts.
* Korean Stock Market (KOSPI): up 42.72% compared with the end of 2024
Global Stock Market (MSCI ACWI ex-Korea, USD): up 17.84% compared with the end of 2024
Domestic fixed income generated positive returns while experiencing fluctuations in the economic recovery following two interest rate cuts in the first half of the year. Overseas fixed income returns were also positive, supported by valuation gains from rising bond prices and falling yields on concerns over an economic slowdown.
* 3-year Korean Treasury: down 1.3bp compared with the end of 2024
10-year U.S. Treasury: down 43.0bp compared with the end of 2024
Returns on alternative assets primarily reflected interest and dividend income, along with foreign exchange gains/losses resulting from currency fluctuations, and fair value adjustments are not included in this period’s results.
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