Woori Financial takes over Franklin Templeton’s retail fund business

Woori Financial Group has been selected to acquire Franklin Templeton Investments’ retail fund business in South Korea, less than a month since the global asset management firm’s announcement to sell the unit.  

According to the group on May 14, its affiliate Woori Asset Management Corp. (WAM) will take over Franklin Templeton’s retail fund unit, following WAM’s board decision on May 13.

Franklin Templeton’s South Korean retail fund unit operates 15 overseas funds as well as seven domestic funds, totaling around 220 billion won ($195 million). Franklin Templeton, one of the leading asset management firms in the world, entered the Korean market in 1997.

The global asset management firm is following in suit of peers such as JPMorgan and BlackRock, which sold their retail fund units to domestic financial firms.

“Franklin Templeton is the first global asset management firm to have entered South Korea more than 20 years ago. The strategic sellout of our retail unit in the country will allow us to focus more on the institutional segment of our business,” the firm said.  

WAM, formerly known as Tongyang Asset Management, was sold by China’s Anbang Insurance Group to Woori Financial in August 2019. After becoming a part of the Woori Financial Group, the firm is strengthening its overseas business.

“The acquisition will serve as momentum for our company to offer more global investment opportunities to Korean investors as well as bolster collaboration with global asset management firms,” said a Woori Asset Management official.

Write to Dae-hun Kim at daepun@hankyung.com
Daniel Cho edited this article.