Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
Mirae Asset sets milestone in Australian ETF market
Global X Australia employees celebrate the listing of the firm's Global X Gold Bullion (Currency Hedged) ETF during the opening bell ceremony at the Australian Securities Exchange in March. Courtesy of Mirae Asset Global Investments
By Yi Whan-woo
Mirae Asset Global Investments said Tuesday that its exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Australia surpassed 10 billion Australian dollars ($6.41 billion) in assets under management (AUM).
The achievement came about three years after the asset management arm of Mirae Asset Financial Group acquired a local company, ETF Securities, in June 2022. The company was rebranded to Global X Australia.
Mirae Asset Global Investments has quickly expanded its presence in Australia since then, with Global X Australia marking a more than two-fold increase in AUM, which refers to the total market value of the securities a financial institution manages on behalf of its clients.
The AUM amounted to AU$4.64 billion in June 2022, before rising to AU$6.21 billion in December 2023, AU$9.13 billion in December 2024 and over AU$10 billion this year.
Global X Australia’s AUM grew 22.3 percent on average annually, far above the annual growth rate of 18.6 percent recorded by all Australian ETF issuers.
It ranks as the fifth-largest equity-traded fund manager on the Australian market, following Vanguard, Betashares, iShares and VanEck.
“We will try to strengthen the ETF business by introducing products that are attractive for Australian investors, especially targeting pensioners as their long-term investment partner,” Global X Australia CEO Alex Zaika said.
Kim Young-hwan, who leads innovation and global business at Mirae Asset Global Investments, attributed Global X Australia’s growth to “balanced growth in terms of quantity and quality, through an expansion of product lineup, rebranding and leadership shuffle.”
Kim highlighted Global X Australia’s range of innovative services, including thematic, income and fixed-income ETFs.
It also offers Global X Physical Gold, a spot gold ETF launched in 2003, which was the first ETF tied to the gold spot price, along with Global X Gold Bullion and Global X Gold Bullion (Currency Hedged).
Kim underscored Australia as a key business region for Mirae Asset Global Investments, expressing hope that the country is expected to “contribute greatly to the expansion of our global ETF business.”