AIF Global Launches New AIF APAC Division with Asia Pacific Regional Focus at Inaugural Annual Investors' Meeting in Seoul

Yonsei University Professor of Finance Sam Y. Chung to lead the new division, as AIF expands its global institutional asset owner community

NEW YORK, April 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The independent economic think tank AIF Global (www.aifglobal.org) is pleased to announce the launch of a new division called AIF APAC. AIF APAC will serve as an ongoing resource that will educate and inform the global institutional asset owner community, particularly those based in the Asia Pacific regions of South Korea, Australia, Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, about the best use of alternative investments in their portfolios. 

Yonsei University Professor of Finance Sam Y. Chung will serve as the first Head of AIF APAC. Professor Chung is based in Seoul, South Korea.

AIF APAC's Head, Professor Chung stated: "It is my great honor to lead AIF APAC and, as one team with AIF Global, we will put forth our best effort to educate and inform the Asia Pacific community of asset owners about their best use of alternative investments to enhance and diversify their portfolios. I am confident that the insights and knowledge that will be shared through AIF APAC will be invaluable to them as they navigate the complex and dynamic landscape facing asset owners in the APAC region."

AIF's Founder and CEO Brant Maller stated: "We could not have been more pleased with the success of AIF APAC's inaugural event under Professor Chung's leadership. The APAC region is as dynamic and growing as any in the world, so adding this regional presence is the natural next step in AIF's goal of expanding to all of the world's major institutional money centers. Professor Chung's years of experience on investment advisory boards for NPS and Korea Post, his status as a respected finance academic and his physical presence in the APAC region make him an ideal choice to lead AIF's efforts there."

AIF APAC held its inaugural Annual Investors' Meeting in Seoul on March 28–29, 2023. Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Chief Investment Officers (CIOs) and Senior Investment Officers from many of the world's largest institutional asset owners, including CEOs and CIOs of National Pension Service of Korea (NPS), Korea Investment Corporation and New York State Teachers' Retirement System (NYSTRS), as well as many of the APAC region's top government officials and preeminent finance academics, participated in the Annual Investors' Meeting.

The meeting was anchored by AIF's signature portfolio construction, alternative asset class and Center of Excellence deep dive sessions. It also featured several memorable, cross-border, best practice policy discussions, including one among Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read, NYSTRS Executive Director-CIO Tom Lee and South Korean National Assembly Member and University of Seoul Finance Professor Chang Hyun Yun. That discussion examined two very different, but highly successful, governance models utilized by two nearly fully funded pension plans (for the States of Oregon and New York).  Those models were contrasted against NPS, which is the world's second largest pension plan, but faces demographic and structural challenges that may cause its funding to be fully depleted prior to 2055.

The keynote dinner speakers each night were Mr. Sung Joo Kim, a Congressman of the South Korean National Assembly and the former CEO of NPS, and Dr. Sung Hwan Shin, a Member of Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of Korea. They discussed some of the current fiscal and geopolitical issues facing NPS and the South Korean economy.

AIF APAC's forums and other investment activities will be integrated with those of AIF Global across the four continents that AIF Global visits: North America, Australia, Europe, and Asia. They will also showcase the content generated by the AIF Institute's four Centers of Excellence in Private Capital Investing, Insurance Investing, Financial Innovation, and ESG and Sustainable Investing. 

The initial Founding Faculty Members of AIF APAC are 400 Capital Management, which specializes in investing in Alternative Credit, CBRE, which specializes in investing in Real Assets (Real Estate and Infrastructure), and GrowthCurve Capital, which specializes in investing in Private Equity. AIF APAC plans to add other Faculty Members with specialized expertise in the main alternative asset classes that AIF Global studies: Private Equity, Private Credit, Real Estate, Infrastructure, and Diversifying and Opportunistic Strategies. 

AIF will conduct its Australian Investors' Forum on May 17–18 in Melbourne.

About AIF Global and the AIF Institute

AIF Global is an independent economic think tank with the mission of fostering the exchange of best ideas, practices, and information among institutional investors globally to help them achieve their investment objectives. Since its inception, the AIF Institute has been a leader in providing customized education to institutional investors globally. https://aifglobal.org

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SOURCE AIF Global