The Korea Wealth Fund's interest in Metaverse

South Korea's $200 billion wealth fund (KIC) plans to invest in the metaverse and artificial intelligence fields in Silicon Valley to accelerate the shift towards alternative assets. In mid-2021, Korea Investment Corp. (KIC) executive Seoungho Jin looks beyond the current slump in tech stocks and the growing risks to the industry from the Fed's rate hikes. The veteran executive predicts that KIC will increase the proportion of alternative assets from 17 percent to 25 percent by 2025, and the value of managed assets to $300 billion. “Some investors are saying that Silicon Valley has reached saturation, which I must admit is partially true. But the region is still the source of global growth. There are still very good opportunities if you keep chasing them." said the 59-year-old executive. Although the fund, which was created in 2005 to increase national wealth and contribute to the country's financial industry, performed slowly in its first period, it has almost doubled its size in the past 5 years. The fund, which only invests outside of Korea, still has not announced its 2021 results. While evaluating opportunities in financial stocks, KIC also increased its investments in technology stocks. Jin thinks these stocks could be positively impacted by rising interest rates.