KIC appoints new private equity head

The sovereign wealth fund announced Song’s promotion alongside that of Jintae Kim, who now leads the absolute returns group. Song previously worked in KIC’s New York office and handled private equity investment, Korea Economic Daily.

These vacancies were the knock-on effect of a series of promotions last year. Jong-ho Kim was elevated from head of private equity to deputy CIO and tasked with leading the alternative investment group in mid-2020. At year-end, Jinseong Park and Jeayoung Huh were appointed heads and alternatives and private equity, respectively, while holding on to their existing absolute returns and real estate briefs.

The most recent changes mean there is no longer a doubling up on those positions.

KIC had $183.1 billion in assets as of December 2020. It claimed an annual investment return of 13.7%, with $71 billion in returns generated since inception. With assets nearly doubling over the past five years, CEO Heenam Choi said in a statement that the fund’s “strong results are attributable to our efforts to strengthen asset allocation capability and enhance long term performance.”

The sovereign wealth fund had an 84.7% allocation to traditional assets, with 42.7% in equities and 35.2% in fixed income, plus 15.3% in alternatives. The alternatives allocation fell from 16.4% in 2018 to 15.6% in 2019. The annualized return on the alternatives portfolio was 7.7%.

KIC established an alternatives division in 2009 and initially focused on fund investments. Its first direct private equity investment came in 2010 and co-investments alongside portfolio GPs began in 2011.

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