South Korea’s Government Employees Pension Service (GEPS) has posted a –4.4 percent return on investment in 2022, but achieved a double-digit return on its alternative assets, according to The Korea Economic Daily.
Amid geopolitical tensions and tightening from the U.S. Federal Reserve, GEPS’ assets under management dropped 1.91 trillion won ($1.5 billion) to 6.2 trillion won ($6 billion). The pension fund had positive returns of 8.4 percent in 2019, 10.5 percent in 2020 and 8.6 percent in 2021.
The pension fund posted a 10.2 percent return from alternative assets, which includes infrastructure, continuing its positive streak from previous years — with 19.4 percent in 2021, 7.5 percent in 2020 and 8.5 percent in 2019. The pension fund allocated 2.2 trillion won ($1.7 billion), or 35.2 percent of its assets under management, to alternative investments in 2022. GEPS plans to focus on the diversification of its portfolio in 2023.