The move is seen as part of the group’s push to become a global investment platform
Gains from SpaceX have lifted earnings expectations and fueled a surge in market value
Park Hyeon-joo, chairman of Mirae Asset Financial Group
[Insight Korea = Choi Jae-a]
Park Hyeon-joo, chairman of Mirae Asset Group, has hinted at the possibility of acquiring a U.S. brokerage firm.
According to the financial investment industry on May 7, Mr. Park recently told reporters, “I am trying to break the very concept of a domestic securities firm.” He added, “We are preparing for a merger and acquisition of a U.S. securities firm.”
The market is interpreting Mr. Park’s remarks as possibly referring to one of the “three to four global big deals within six months” that Mirae Asset Securities previewed last October.
In the interview, Mr. Park also spoke more concretely about the company’s future, saying, “Mirae Asset’s corporate value could surpass Robinhood.” His specific mention of Robinhood, the U.S. online brokerage firm, suggests that Mirae Asset may seek to expand its brokerage market share in the United States.
This would not be the first time Mirae Asset Securities has acquired an overseas brokerage. In 2024, it acquired Indian brokerage Sharekhan in a deal worth about 580 billion won. Earlier, in 2013, it bought Indonesia’s eTrading Securities. As news of the plan emerged, the market quickly began analyzing possible acquisition scenarios.
Yoon Joo-ho, chief executive of Umbrella Research and former small-cap team head at Meritz Securities, said, “If we take Mirae Asset Securities’ consolidated equity capital of 12 trillion won and additionally factor in 2 trillion won in valuation gains from SpaceX, an acquisition in the range of about 2.7 trillion to 6.8 trillion won looks realistic.”
“To compete with Robinhood, the target will likely be a company with a digital platform and retail customer base, rather than a simple brokerage,” he said.
More specifically, Mr. Yoon suggested that “a two-track strategy of acquiring TradeStation and launching its own mobile trading system would be a realistic option for Mirae Asset Securities.” He said TradeStation could provide business development infrastructure and a compliance monitoring system, while Mirae Asset could reposition the business as a retail platform using its own mobile trading system.
The move fits into the broader “Mirae Asset 3.0” strategy that Mr. Park declared last October. After the 1.0 era focused on mutual funds and the 2.0 era that took off with the acquisition of Daewoo Securities, the group now aims to transform into a global investment platform spanning traditional finance and digital assets.
Mirae Asset Securities emphasized that the process remains at an early stage. “No specific acquisition target, size or timing has been decided,” a company official said. “As with the Sharekhan acquisition in India, this is an early review stage based on certain possibilities.”
Park’s Overseas Push Dates Back to 2003
Mr. Park’s push into overseas markets is not new. After posting a return of more than 90 percent with the Park Hyeon-joo No. 1 Mutual Fund in 1998, he turned his attention abroad early.
In 2003, Mirae Asset became the first Korean asset manager to establish a Hong Kong subsidiary. In 2018, it acquired Global X, a U.S. exchange-traded fund manager, for 520 billion won. Today, through Global X and Mirae Asset’s TIGER ETFs, the group manages nearly 400 trillion won in ETF assets across the United States, Europe, Australia and other markets.
But its overseas investments have not always been successful. The Insight Fund, launched in 2007, suffered losses worth several trillion won after a sharp fall in the Chinese stock market. The Hyatt Regency Waikiki hotel in Hawaii recorded a net loss of 77.7 billion won on its beneficiary certificates because of the Covid-19 pandemic. At the 1801K office building in Washington, Mirae Asset lost 99 percent of its investment.
After experiencing these investment failures, Mr. Park increased the group’s emphasis on global diversification and investments in innovative companies. The shift was influenced by the risks he experienced from concentrating investments in specific countries or assets.
One result of that strategic change is the group’s standout investment in SpaceX. Mirae Asset Group has invested about 400 billion won in SpaceX since 2022. As SpaceX pushes toward an initial public offering, the value of Mirae Asset’s stake has surged, and valuation gains are expected to reach 2 trillion won this year.
The market is raising expectations for Mirae Asset’s earnings by reflecting the performance of its SpaceX investment. FnGuide forecasts that Mirae Asset Securities’ first-quarter operating profit will rise 292 percent from a year earlier to 1.3582 trillion won. Mirae Asset Securities is scheduled to announce first-quarter results on May 12.
The strong earnings outlook has also driven a sharp rise in Mirae Asset Securities’ share price. The previous day, the stock rose 19.20 percent on a closing-price basis, lifting its market capitalization to 46.8917 trillion won. The figure is about 3.5 times higher than at the start of the year and has surpassed Shinhan Financial Group. It is rare for a standalone securities firm to exceed a comprehensive financial group in market capitalization.
Beyond SpaceX, Mirae Asset Securities also operates a dedicated department for businesses such as pre-IPO investments. According to the company, each affiliate under Mirae Asset Financial Group is operated under a professional management system, while Mr. Park serves in an advisory role in global business.
“A securities firm’s role is not limited to simply serving as an investment platform for customers,” a company official said. “Directly investing its own capital is also an important role. We expect these investment results to expand further going forward.”
-This article was translated by ChatGPT. (이 기사는 챗GPT가 번역했습니다.)
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