South Korea’s 513 asset management companies posted a record combined net profit of ₩2.6889 trillion (about $2.0 billion) in the second quarter, according to the Financial Supervisory Service’s Q2 2026 Asset Management Company Business Results released on the 11th. Profit rose 83.4% from the previous quarter and 214.3% from a year earlier, while operating profit increased 78.9% to ₩2.4195 trillion. Annualized return on equity reached 51.9%, up 20.8 percentage points. Growth in ETFs and equity funds, supported by a strong KOSPI, lifted total fee income 37.7% to ₩2.6072 trillion and pushed ETF net asset value up 42.1% to ₩512.4 trillion. Proprietary securities investment gains also rose sharply. Total assets under management increased 17.9% to ₩2,777.5 trillion, but public-fund assets grew much faster than private-fund assets. The industry-wide record masked widening performance disparities: the loss-making share rose to 42.9%, including 47.9% among private-equity managers compared with 14.3% among public-offering managers. The FSS said it would monitor financially weak firms more closely and curb leverage and debt-fueled investing amid concerns over concentration and excessive short-term trading.