NH Investment & Securities launches W100b short-term IMA product

NH Investment & Securities said Tuesday it will accept subscriptions for "N2 IMA1 Short-Term No. 1," a short-term integrated management account product, on a first-come, first-served basis through Oct. 7.

The product is the firm's first short-term IMA offering. It carries an 18-month maturity and targets total subscriptions of around 100 billion won ($74 million).

Designed with a maturity of under two years, the product targets customers who want to deploy funds over a shorter horizon — the key distinction from the firm's existing medium-term IMA products.

The performance fee benchmark return is set at 4.3 percent per year, and the total fee is 0.5 percent — 0.1 percentage point lower than the medium-term products. A performance fee rate of 40 percent applies to returns exceeding the benchmark return after fee deductions.

Earlier medium-term products sold out before their subscription periods closed, and NH Investment & Securities expects strong demand from investors seeking returns above prevailing market rates and stable asset management.

The firm also raised the performance fee benchmark return to 4.3 percent annually even as market interest rate volatility has increased, positioning the product as an attractive option for investors pursuing both stability and yield.

An IMA is a product in which a securities firm guarantees the return of principal and invests customer funds in investment banking assets such as acquisition financing, corporate loans and corporate bonds to generate returns. NH Investment & Securities plans to participate in the high-quality medium- and long-term corporate financing market, drawing on what it describes as the country's top-tier IB capabilities and credit standing.

"We determined it was important to build out an IMA lineup that matches customers' investment horizons and goals, which is why we prepared a short-term product," said Bae Gwang-su, chief executive of NH Investment & Securities. "We will continue to introduce products with a variety of maturity structures to broaden the range of choices available to customers."

Allocations for N2 IMA1 Short-Term No. 1 will be made on a first-come, first-served basis, and subscriptions may close early once the limit is reached. Full details on enrollment and related events are available at NH Investment & Securities branches nationwide and through its MTS apps "NH Investment & Securities (N2)" and "NAMUH."

NH Investment & Securities' IMA products have continued to sell out, proving particularly popular among high-net-worth customers.

Customers with assets of 1 billion won or more accounted for 68 percent of sales in "N2 IMA1 Medium-Term No. 3," which sold out on Aug. 19, according to NH Investment & Securities. That surpassed the 62 percent share recorded for No. 1 and 51 percent for No. 2. The firm said the proportion attributable to customers with assets of 3 billion won or more also rose noticeably.

Those figures cover both corporate and individual investors, and NH Investment & Securities said they reflect growing interest in IMA products among high-net-worth clients.

Breaking down sales by customer type, the corporate share fell to 49 percent from 57 percent for No. 1 and 66 percent for No. 2, though it remained near half of total sales. Individual investors' share exceeded 50 percent for the first time. On a cumulative basis across all three offerings, corporate customers accounted for 56.7 percent of total sales by value.