[Edaily Reporter Park Sun-Yeop ] NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES has embarked on a new chapter under a co-CEO system led by Shin Jae-wook and Bae Kwang-soo. With the full-scale launch of its Integrated Investment Account (IMA) business on the horizon, the company aims to strengthen business-specific expertise and accountable management at a time when it needs to more closely integrate its investment banking (IB), wealth management (WM), and asset management divisions.
NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES(005940)The company announced on the 30th that it held an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders and officially appointed Shin Jae-wook and Bae Kwang-soo as co-CEOs. This marks the completion of the transition from the previous sole CEO system to a co-CEO system. The two executives were previously recommended by the Executive Candidate Recommendation Committee and approved by the extraordinary board of directors before being formally appointed at the shareholders’ meeting that day.

In their inaugural addresses, the two CEOs emphasized that the significance of the co-CEO system lies in “integration” rather than “separation.” They stated, “The co-CEO system is not a structure that divides the company into two parts, but rather an operational system that clearly defines each individual’s expertise and responsibilities while unifying the company’s overall performance,” and emphasized, “We will exercise authority and make decisions more clearly and quickly, but we will share the ultimate responsibility for results.”
The two CEOs’ emphasis on “integration” is closely tied to changes in NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES’ business structure. As capital-utilization businesses—such as IMA—gain momentum, it will become increasingly difficult to view Wealth Management (WM), Investment Banking (IB), and Asset Management as separate entities. This is because the ability to link the expansion of client assets to the identification and commercialization of high-quality investment opportunities, as well as to investment performance, has become the key factor determining a securities firm’s competitiveness.
In this process, while decision-making within each business unit must accelerate, capital allocation and risk management must move in a unified direction at the company-wide level. This is why the partnership between CEO Shin and CEO Bae is drawing attention: one has demonstrated strengths in large-scale investment projects and risk management, while the other has excelled in expanding Wealth Management by leveraging his investment banking experience.
CEO Shin is a real estate investment banking expert who has held key positions in NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES’ Real Estate Finance and IB2 divisions. He has led the organization in the investment banking, real assets, infrastructure, and alternative investments sectors—not only during boom times in the real estate project financing (PF) market but also during periods of tight money markets and heightened scrutiny of project viability.
One of CEO Shin’s most notable achievements is the Yeouido Park One PF project. Park One is a mega-project involving a complex business structure, multiple stakeholders, and large-scale financing. CEO Shin participated in the entire process—from project structuring to financial procurement and risk management—and has experience leading a PF project worth approximately 2.1 trillion won. Other major projects in his portfolio include the Yeouido Brighton mixed-use development, the Nine One Hannam PF, and the Seun District office development.
CEO Bae’s strength lies in his experience in both Investment Banking (IB) and Wealth Management (WM). After building his career in corporate finance—including debt capital markets (DCM), equity capital markets (ECM), and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisory—he took charge of the Wealth Management (WM) division. He is recognized for applying his corporate finance experience to wealth management, recognizing that managing the assets of ultra-high-net-worth individuals extends beyond simply selling products to encompass areas such as corporate governance restructuring, family business succession, and intergenerational asset transfers—all of which overlap with the investment banking (IB) domain.
These strengths are reflected in the results. During CEO Bae’s tenure at the WM division, NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES’ total client assets grew from 445 trillion won in the third quarter of 2025 to 535 trillion won in the first quarter of 2026. The number of high-net-worth clients with assets of 100 million won or more increased from 210,000 to 358,000, and the WM division’s profit expanded from 219.6 billion won to 526 billion won.
The family office business is another area where CEO Bae’s strengths have been evident. NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES expanded its presence in the ultra-high-net-worth market by surpassing 200 family office clients just 3 years and 9 months after launching the service. In particular, the company enhanced its WM competitiveness by expanding its services into a family-based wealth management platform that encompasses tax and legal advisory services, family business succession planning, and education for the next generation.
The challenge moving forward is for the two CEOs to translate the achievements they have each built into the company’s overall revenue structure. Rather than viewing the high-net-worth clients secured through Wealth Management merely as a sales base, there needs to be a process where investment opportunities identified by Investment Banking are structured into appropriate products and supplied to clients. Conversely, even if large deals are identified, there are limits to improving capital efficiency without a corresponding sales base and management and exit strategies.
This is why the new management has prioritized synergies between business units and capital efficiency. In their inaugural addresses, both CEOs emphasized that “the success of the new system depends not on the system itself, but on how it is operated.” NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES plans to actively allocate capital to businesses with high profitability relative to risk, while reviewing areas with low efficiency to maximize the utilization of its limited capital.
As capital-intensive businesses such as IMA grow, the success of the co-CEO system is expected to hinge not only on the number of deals secured but also on which deals receive capital investment and how those investments are linked through product development, management, and exit.
Along with capital efficiency, changes in organizational operations were also identified as a key challenge. NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES plans to increase the use of artificial intelligence (AI) across all operations—including client consultations, research, product supply, deal review, and risk assessment—while simultaneously strengthening principles of personal data protection and internal controls. This decision stems from the judgment that, as authority over individual business units grows, it is crucial to establish a system where risk assessments and client-centric validation are in place from the earliest stages of sales.
Meanwhile, NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES also appointed Ahn Seong-wook as an outside director at the extraordinary general meeting held that day. Mr. Ahn, the newly appointed outside director, is a legal professional with a background in the prosecution, having served as the head of the Narcotics and Organized Crime Investigation Division at the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office and the head of the Trial and Litigation Division at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office. He currently serves as the managing partner at Seongmun Law Firm. This appointment is seen as a move to reinforce internal controls and risk management systems in conjunction with the launch of the co-CEO system.