NPS sees 2 deputy CIO job creations in investment dept reorganization

The National Pension Service (NPS) is considering creating two positions of deputy chief investment officers, one of whom will lead domestic and global alternative investments together as head of the alternative investment group to be launched.

In a report to parliament’s health and welfare committee on July 25, NPS said that it is seeking to reorganize its Investment Management department and raise remuneration of asset management staff to match pay levels in top 25% of asset management companies in South Korea.

The planned pay raise is likely to cost an additional 10.9 billion won ($9.7 million) next year, according to the report.

The reorganization and pay increase plans, aimed at enhancing global competitiveness of its asset management, were reported by the Korean Investors in November 2016 and March 2017.

Under the reorganization plan, the combined alternative investment group will consist of private equity, real estate and infrastructure investment divisions.

Alternative investments took 10.7% of its 635 trillion won ($567 billion) assets under management at end-April 2018.

The other deputy CIO, as head of the securities investment group, will control three other investment divisions: equities, fixed incomes and global equities. They accounted for 89% of AUM.

In order to attract global talent and improve investment management capabilities, NPS calls for a sharp pay increase for its asset management staff.

NPS has been struggling with continuous outflows of experienced investment managers after it moved to a provincial city of Jeonju, a three-hour drive south of Seoul, in early 2017.

The $570 billion pension scheme plans to expand its asset management workforce to 500 from the current 370 by stages, with its AUM projected to exceed 1,000 trillion won by around 2025.

In the second half of this year, its Investment Management department plans to recruit 34 asset management staff, adding to the 20 new hires in the first half.

By YH Hugh Jeong

hugh@hankyung.com