The firms will launch two funds, a global bond fund and a global allocation fund, both in South Korea.

Investment management firm T Rowe Price has partnered with Korea Investment Management (KIM) to launch the Target Income Global Bond Fund and the Target Income Global Allocation Fund in South Korea. 

The funds will allow Korean investors access to T Rowe Price’s diverse range of global investment strategies, the firms said in a statement.

The Target Income Global Bond Fund will focus on global income seeking assets with an emphasis on preserving capital. The fund will allocate to T Rowe Price’s Global Multi-Sector Bond Strategy and Global Investment Grade Corporate Bond Strategy, operating a flexible investment mandate which allows access to investments in a broad set of countries, sectors and capital structures.

The Target Income Global Allocation Fund aims to diversify across global income seeking and growth assets to both grow and preserve capital. It will have a dynamic allocation of its assets to bonds, through T Rowe Price’s Global Multi-Sector Bond Strategy and the Global Investment Grade Corporate Bond Strategy, and to equities, through the Global Focused Growth Equity Strategy and Global Value Equity Strategy.

“Demand in South Korea for stable returns has grown as the country’s population ages and struggles with low birth rates as well as low interest rates,” said Nick Trueman, head of institutional business, Asia ex-Japan at T Rowe Price. “T Rowe Price and KIM have thought carefully about the low-risk investment strategies that these conditions require and believe that these funds offer a global portfolio seeking stable income opportunities. We are extremely pleased to be working with KIM again, following the successful launch of our Target Date Fund series earlier this year.” 

“South Korean investors are increasingly looking beyond their own borders to deliver reliable and durable retirement income,” said Cho Hong-Rae, chief executive at KIM. “Given the success of our previous collaboration on the Target Date Fund series and the strength of our relationship, we are delighted to once again partner with T Rowe Price, and are confident that the firm’s renowned investment management capabilities will enable our investors to tap global opportunities to secure and maximize their income.”  

Founded in 1937, Baltimore-based T Rowe Price Group is a global investment management organization with $991 billion in assets under management as of 30 November.

Korea Investment Management (KIM) is an investment management subsidiary of Korea Investment Holdings, a financial service provider in investment banking, asset management, hedge fund management, venture capital/PEF management, mutual savings, and internet banking.