The National Pension Service (NPS) posted a preliminary return of 14.18% as of the end of April, driven by strong gains in domestic equities on the back of a rising KOSPI.
The NPS said Monday that its return was provisionally tallied at 14.18% as of the end of April. The return as of the end of the first quarter stood at 4.42% amid the Middle East war between the United States and Iran, meaning the figure rose by nearly 10 percentage points in just one month. In particular, a 59.71% return in the domestic equities segment helped lift the fund's overall performance.
Excluding domestic equities, foreign equities posted the highest return at 8.19% as of the end of April. Alternative investments returned 3.95%, foreign bonds 295%, and domestic bonds -1.74%.
Domestic equities continued their double-digit advance on solid earnings growth led by semiconductors, as Middle East risks eased. Foreign equities also turned positive, reversing from -0.11% at the end of March.
Domestic and foreign interest rates rose on inflation concerns stemming from higher oil prices and other factors. Domestic bonds saw returns decline as rising rates dragged down bond valuations. Foreign bonds recorded positive returns despite rising rates, helped by the impact of currency appreciation.
Most of the return on alternative investment assets came from interest and dividend income and translation gains and losses from currency fluctuations, and did not reflect fair value assessments.
