Australia's IFM opens Korea office

This is IFM's eighth office globally and its third in the Asia-Pacific region, joining branches in Tokyo and Hong Kong. IFM hopes to build a closer relationship with Korean institutional investors, particularly public pension funds looking for exposure to non-traditional asset classes.

IFM's owners participate in funds and deals, but the group also raises capital from third-party institutions. It currently represents more than 260 institutional investors, with A$98 billion ($74 billion) in funds under management across debt (A$31 billion), listed equities (A$24 billion), infrastructure (A$41 billion) and private equity (A$2 billion).

In addition to Hong Kong and Tokyo, IFM also has offices in Melbourne, Sydney, New York, London, and Berlin, with more than 40% of its investment professionals based outside of Australia. The Korea office will be headed by Kelly Ki Jeong Lee, formerly general manager for investor relations at Samsung Life Insurance, who has been named Client Relationship Director.

"More than ever, Korean pension and insurance investors are embracing IFM Investors investment model, and our investor-first approach, in order to diversify globally and add to their risk adjusted returns," said IFM CEO Brett Himbury in a statement. "For our existing investors the opening of the Korean office, alongside our presence in Hong Kong and Japan, will further broaden and deepen our client relations across the Asian region."

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