NH Investment & Securities
Top-tier South Korean brokerage and investment bank under NongHyup Financial Group.
On the record
Checkpoint: Co-CEO term ends and IMA market share vs. Mirae and KIS gets assessed
The call
NH holds a scarce IMA license and record profit, but sits third behind Mirae Asset and Korea Investment & Securities as its new co-CEOs try to convert that license into share.
NH Investment & Securities is a major South Korean brokerage and investment bank owned by a big agricultural financial group. It makes money from trading fees, underwriting deals, and managing client money. It holds one of only three special licenses in Korea that lets it do certain high-level banking work, which competitors cannot easily get because the government tightly controls who receives these licenses; AI tools can execute trades faster and cheaper but cannot replace the license itself or take on legal responsibility for big deals. The key wild card is whether new co-CEOs starting in June 2026 can grow the company's market share faster than its two main rivals (Mirae Asset and Korea Investment) who also hold the same rare licenses, because if that leadership transition stumbles, NH stays third place instead of moving up.
Why
01
AI pressure: Toss Securities and Kakaopay Securities AI-driven trading apps. Low-cost AI trading apps squeeze retail commission fees, though NH shows no direct share loss yet. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.
02
Bigger players: Mirae Asset Securities and Korea Investment & Securities. Both already run larger, earlier IMA funds, leaving NH third in the license race for high-margin asset management. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.
03
What protects it. One of only three IMA licenses in Korea, AA+ backing from NongHyup Financial Group, and an 8 trillion won equity base.
What would change this call
NH's IMA fund asset growth vs. Korea Investment & Mirae Asset through 2027. Shows whether NH converts its IMA license into real market share or stays #3.
Q3/Q4 2026 earnings after the June 2026 co-CEO transition. Tests whether Shin Jae-wook and Bae Kwang-soo sustain H1's record profit pace.
KOSPI trend and NH fee income if equity market volatility persists. Reveals how exposed NH's profit surge is to a market downturn.
Q3/Q4 2026 earnings after the June 2026 co-CEO transition. Tests whether Shin Jae-wook and Bae Kwang-soo sustain H1's record profit pace.
KOSPI trend and NH fee income if equity market volatility persists. Reveals how exposed NH's profit surge is to a market downturn.
Key numbers
- FY2025 net profit 1.03 trillion won, up 50% YoY
- H1 2026 net profit 965.2 billion won, more than doubled YoY
- Became Korea's third IMA operator in March 2026
Named risks
- Co-CEO structure (June 2026 to March 2028) creates leadership execution uncertainty.
- Brokerage fee income highly sensitive to KOSPI volatility; 8% circuit-breaker plunge occurred June 2026.
- NH is #3 of three IMA operators, risking stalled market share vs Mirae and KIS.
- Legacy Optimus fund and DLS litigation continues to generate reputational and legal exposure.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Mirae Asset Securities | losing to | NH's retirement pension AUM 12.21tn won vs Mirae's 52.02tn as of 2026-06-30 |
| Korea Investment & Securities | contesting | NH became Korea's 3rd IMA operator in March 2026, after KIS and Mirae |
| Shinhan Investment & Securities | gaining on | Shinhan's DLS-loss suit against NH dismissed on statute of limitations, 2026-07-22 |
| Woori Financial Group | gaining on | NH Financial Group extended profit lead over Woori in H1 2026 (1.78tn won) |
Questions people ask
- Is NH Investment & Securities profitable in 2026?
- Yes. NH posted H1 2026 net profit of 965.2 billion won, the highest among Korean brokerages that half, more than doubling year over year on a 71.2% jump in net fees and commissions, as of June 30, 2026.
- Who owns NH Investment & Securities?
- NH Investment & Securities is majority owned by NongHyup Financial Group, itself controlled by the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation. Public shareholder Vanguard Capital Management holds 1.13%, and the top 25 shareholders together hold about 76.7%.
- Could AI replace NH Investment & Securities?
- Not entirely. AI-driven tools can compress retail brokerage margins, which is why NH launched its own AI agent 'Terminal X' with Project Pluto in August 2025, but its scarce IMA license, AA+ backing, and IB deal relationships are not AI-substitutable.
- Who is NH Investment & Securities' biggest competitor?
- Mirae Asset Securities and Korea Investment & Securities are NH's top rivals. Mirae leads retirement pension AUM at 52.02 trillion won versus NH's 12.21 trillion won as of mid-2026, and both preceded NH in winning IMA licenses.
- Is NH Investment & Securities a safe company to join?
- NH is backed by AA+-rated NongHyup Financial Group and posted a record FY2025 net profit of 1.03 trillion won (+50.2% YoY), but a June 2026 shift to a co-CEO structure running to March 2028 adds leadership transition uncertainty.
- Did NH Investment & Securities win its Optimus fund lawsuits?
- Mixed outcome. In May 2026 South Korea's Supreme Court overturned FSC sanctions against NH over the 2019-2020 Optimus fund distribution, but that same month JYP Entertainment won a separate Supreme Court judgment against NH for about 1.51 billion won in the same matter.
Timeline
- 2026-07-24H1 2026 results show NH Financial Group posted 1.78 trillion won group profit
- 2026-07-22Shinhan lawsuit against NH over 2019 DLS/gold-trading losses dismissed on statute of limitations
- 2026-06-30NH launches co-CEO system with Shin Jae-wook and Bae Kwang-soo, terms to March 2028
- 2026-06-28KOSPI plunges over 8%, triggering circuit breaker amid AI-rally volatility
- 2026-05-22Supreme Court overturns FSC sanctions against NH in Optimus fund case
- 2026-05-12JYP Entertainment wins Supreme Court judgment against NH for about 1.51 billion won
- 2026-03-26NH launches first IMA product, a 400 billion won principal-guaranteed fund
- 2026-03-18FSC names NH Korea's third IMA operator, after KIS and Mirae Asset
- 2025-08-31NH Financial Group injects 650 billion won to push equity above 8 trillion won IMA threshold
- 2025-08-10NH partners with Project Pluto to launch AI investment agent Terminal X
Revision history
26 July 2026
First assessed. Defensible for now. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- NH Investment & Securities Breaks 1 Trillion Won Annual Net Profit Milestone (2026-01-29)
- NH Investment & Securities has opened the era of 1 trillion won.. (2026-01-29)
- Market rally lifts Korea's five financial groups to W13tr profit (2026-07-24)
- NH Investment & Securities Co. has crossed the nine-part ridge to approve the comprehensive in.. (2026-03-11)
- FSC names NH Investment & Securities IMA operator (2026-03-18)
- NH Investment & Securities launches Korea's first corporate finance IMA (2026-03-26)
- NH Investment & Securities announced.. (2026-03-17)
- NH Investment & Securities announced.. strategic partnership.. Terminal X (2025-08-10)
- NH Investment & Securities Launches Co-CEO System (2026-06-30)
- Retirement Pension Assets Surge at Brokerages (2026-07-21)
- NH Investment & Securities Co. Ltd. Annual Income Statement - WSJ (2025-11-12)
- NH Invt & Securities Number of Employees 2026 (2026-06-29)