InterviewCrypto quant trader builds loyalty with proven value

AM Management CEO Kim Ho-joong / Courtesy of DeSpread

The Terra-Luna collapse and FTX bankruptcy of 2022 dealt a heavy blow not only to investors but also to industry players. In Korea, many went bankrupt, radically shifted their business models or disappeared altogether.

Yet AM Management endured. Established in 2021, the company offers AI-driven quantitative solutions for trading digital assets.

“We survived, and surviving means we’ve proven ourselves,” company CEO Kim Ho-joong said in a recent interview with The Korea Times. “For about a year and a half, we offered our services completely free of charge just to prove our value. And many of those early users have now become loyal clients.”

The company’s current standing is due to an uncommon quality in the crypto industry: its focus on stability.

Kim explained that AM Management conducts 90 percent of its trading in Bitcoin due to its relatively low risk and volatility. When it comes to altcoins, each must have at least four years of price history before being evaluated for inclusion in its quant models, and the same criteria apply to the exchanges it uses.

As a result, more than 80 percent of its clients are institutional investors. The majority, or 70 percent, are based in Japan, where corporate adoption of digital assets is already well underway. The firm currently manages approximately 200 billion won ($143.5 million) in assets, targeting an annual return of 30 percent.

Another key advantage is that clients don’t need to entrust their funds to AM Management for it to execute its strategies.

“If you ask someone to transfer their money up front, of course they’re going to hesitate,” Kim said. “But in our case, there’s no need to move any funds. We just ask them to connect their account via API and try a test run.”

An API, or application programming interface, allows different software systems to communicate with each other. In this case, it enables AM Management to connect to a client’s trading account without the client having to give up direct control of their funds.

Most clients start by testing the strategy with about 1 billion won. But after three months of consistent performance, they typically scale up to more than 10 billion won, according to Kim.

“When clients entrust their money to a traditional fund, they usually get a performance update once a month. But in our case, everything is fully transparent in real time. Clients can monitor every trade, every minute,” Kim said. “The demand has been even stronger from overseas clients.”

AM Management entered the Japanese market in early 2024 and established a subsidiary in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, July that year. Its board members are now based in Dubai full-time, aiming to expand the company’s presence in the region.

“Crypto markets are riskier and more volatile, but they also offer far more trading opportunities than traditional equities. They run 24/7, even while we sleep,” Kim said. “That’s why we believe our returns should naturally exceed those of the stock market, and it’s our quant strategies that make that possible by managing the risk.”

“Our goal isn’t just short-term growth,” he added. “We want AM Management to become synonymous with quant investing in crypto — a name recognized for long-term performance and stability.”