National Pension Service wins record 7 international investment awards this year

The National Pension Service has earned recognition from global investment institutions for its fund management capabilities and investment performance, setting a record for the most international awards in a single year.

The NPS Fund Management Division announced Tuesday that it had received a total of seven awards this year at ceremonies organized by global investment media outlets.

In March, PERE (Private Equity Real Estate), a global publication specializing in real estate investment, named the NPS its Global Institutional Investor of the Year. The NPS said PERE cited the fund's strong real estate investment performance, portfolio diversification efforts and work to identify investment opportunities through global partnerships.

Asian Asset Management (AAM), an Asia-Pacific financial investment publication, then named the NPS both the Best Pension Fund in Asia-Pacific and the Best Pension Fund in Korea. The NPS attributed the recognition to its stable fund management performance, systematic risk management and efforts to strengthen overseas investment capabilities.

In May, the NPS won the top prize in the portfolio construction category and excellence awards in the Asia-Pacific investor and core/core-plus strategy categories at the Real Estate Global Awards 2026, organized by IPE Real Assets, a UK publication focused on real asset investment.

On June 30, the NPS also received the Investor of the Year award at The Asset's Triple A Sustainable Investing Awards 2026. The Asset cited the NPS's long-term approach to portfolio diversification and its continuous efforts to strengthen global investment capabilities and risk management frameworks. The award marks the ninth consecutive year the NPS has been the sole Asia-Pacific recipient of the top pension fund institutional award from The Asset since 2018.

"This recognition is a meaningful achievement that demonstrates the global standing of the NPS's long-term investment philosophy and management capabilities," NPS Chairman Kim Sung-joo said. "We will continue to manage the people's precious retirement assets in a stable manner, guided by investment principles that remain firm amid market volatility and a globally competitive management framework."

Meanwhile, according to the NPS's fund return disclosure published June 29, the fund posted an overall return of 14.18 percent on a money-weighted basis from the start of the year through the end of April. Domestic equities alone generated a return of nearly 60 percent during the January-to-April period. By asset class, domestic shares returned 59.71 percent, overseas shares 8.19 percent, domestic bonds minus 1.74 percent, overseas bonds 2.95 percent and alternative investments 3.95 percent.