National pension fund's stock investment return tumbles in H1

SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's national pension fund saw its return from stock investments drop to the worst level since the onset of the 2008 global financial crisis in the first half of the year, industry data showed Sunday. The National Pension Service (NPS), one of the country's largest stock investors, injected around 30 trillion won (US$28 billion) in equity investments in the January-June period, with its yield in the six-month period reaching 2.28 percent, according to the data. The figure compares with a market return of 2.42 percent in the same period, marking the first time in the last three years the world's fourth-largest pension fund's stock investment return fell short of market results. In the second half of 2008, when the global financial crisis erupted, the NPS saw its return from stock investments reach minus 37.46 percent, while the market's yield stood at minus 40.73 percent. The NPS downplayed the bearish investment results. "The results are not significant since the NPS's strategy is to invest in long-term blue chips, not to exceed market return. The first-half results came as stock investment yields temporarily dropped in June," said an NPS official. The first-half results, however, raised doubts about the national pension fund's investment strategy amid concerns its capital will be depleted by 2050 due mainly to the country's rapid aging. The NPS is South Korea's biggest investor, which had an estimated 340 trillion won worth of assets under its management as of the end of April. It is known to mainly invest in the top 200 firms listed on the main bourse.