Fund houses swarm into Korea

This is the year that global fund management houses arrive en masse in South Korea. Although most of the world's big names have long sold offshore products to Korean institutions and high-net worth individuals, only two û Franklin Templeton and later Schroder Investment Management û secured wholly owned investment trust management company (ITMC) licenses, permitting them to market and sell onshore products. And in Korea, which is both wealthy and insular, onshore products are what both retail and institutional investors want.