NH Investment's Neutral Portfolio posts 14.52% annualized return in 2025

NH Investment & Securities said its fourth-quarter 2025 retirement pension default option results highlighted a standout performance in its neutral investment category, even amid a volatile market environment.

In particular, Neutral Portfolio 2 logged an annualized return of 14.52%, versus a securities-industry average of 11.0% for neutral-style options. The firm noted that among large retirement plans with more than 3 trillion won in assets, its performance places it at the top within the securities sector.

The outperformance was attributed to an asset-allocation strategy that splits investments between target-date funds and fixed-term deposits in a 70/30 ratio, aiming to balance growth potential with stability. This approach favors stock exposure through a target-date fund during favorable markets while providing downside protection via deposits when volatility rises.

Within the portfolio, NH Investment & Securities included Hanwha LIFEPLUS TDF 2045, which the firm said was the top-performing fund in its product group for 2025. The combination seeks to capture upside in rising markets while containing risk during downturns.

The default-option framework applies to defined-contribution (DC) and individual retirement pension (IRP) accounts, where investors who do not issue explicit investment directives are automatically steered into pre-designated portfolios. Among the options areActive, Neutral, and Stable, with Neutral positioned as a middle-ground choice.

An NH official emphasized the importance of diversified asset allocation for long-term pension wealth, noting that concentrating on a single asset can miss opportunities or expose plans to risk. The company said it will continue to develop advanced asset-allocation solutions and differentiated services to bolster pension-asset-management competitiveness.

For U.S. readers, the development matters because Korea’s retirement-savings market manages a substantial pool of capital and is increasingly governed by diversified, rule-based asset-allocation approaches similar to those in major Western markets. If Korean pension funds continue integrating market-tested multi-asset strategies and target-date funds, cross-border investment flows and competition among global asset managers could shift, with potential implications for how U.S. firms access Korean institutional funds and participate in East Asian capital markets.