The fund industry is under pressure from declining fees, investors gaining easier access to foreign markets, and the rise of investment platforms that enable investors to make their own decisions.
Kasikorn Asset Management (KAsset), a key player, is pursuing an aggressive strategy across multiple fronts: expanding its customer base, elevating its fund management team, and incorporating digital technology and AI to differentiate itself and maintain leadership in the modern asset management sector.
Win Prommaphet, CFA, CEO of Kasikorn Asset Management Company Limited, revealed that the asset management industry currently faces many challenges, especially increasing competition manifested in lower fees and a shift of investors toward direct foreign investments.
However, KAsset will not engage in price wars or fee cuts; instead, it will compete on quality, expand services, and add value to build customer trust.
Currently, KAsset’s core business comprises three main segments:
The company currently serves about 1.5 million customers, with assets under management (AUM) across these three core businesses reaching 1.9 trillion baht in 2025, growing approximately 10%, outpacing the mutual fund industry growth of 7.2%. This growth stems from focusing on bonds, balanced funds, and foreign investments, which better meet investor needs recently.
Another key growth driver is developing more comprehensive investment products. Recently, KAsset launched unhedged funds, which do not hedge currency risk, with AUM growing 487% last year.
For future growth amid slow Thai economic expansion, the focus will be on increasing investment from the existing affluent customer base, mostly aged 40-60, while attracting more younger clients by upgrading fund managers, improving services, and leveraging technology.
Regarding competition from new investment platforms that emphasize self-directed investing, KAsset plans to differentiate by providing portfolio advisory services, emphasizing global diversification through expert fund managers. It also highlights the tax benefits of investing via mutual funds, an advantage not available on direct investment platforms.
Win also stated that KAsset is developing its team to achieve world-class expertise, moving beyond simply offering feeder funds—foreign funds sold in Thailand—such as
the fixed income team, which has expanded from analyzing only Thai bonds to assessing global fixed income to capture opportunities beyond the limited domestic market.
The equity team has extended its coverage from Thai stocks to Vietnamese equities and globally diversified real estate investment trusts (REITs).
The multi-asset team collaborates closely with JPMorgan to manage portfolios across diverse assets including stocks, bonds, gold, and private assets.
"Fund managers who don’t use AI may lose their jobs, but those who use AI will remain employable,"
Win said. He explained that KAsset is encouraging all employees, from front to back office, to adopt technology tools such as AI and automation to reduce workload and improve efficiency.
For customer service, the company has enhanced its digital e-Service system for over 500,000 provident fund members, enabling them to manage investment plans or increase contributions online, improving convenience and reducing errors from traditional manual processes.
Additionally, the company prioritizes delivering timely information by using AI to summarize data, allowing it to release early investment analysis promptly when major global events occur.
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