Asset management firms in South Korea saw their 2021 combined net earnings jump 67.1 percent from a year earlier thanks to a rise in commission revenue, data showed Wednesday.

The combined net income of 348 firms came to 2.16 trillion won ($2.01 billion) last year compared with 1.3 trillion won a year earlier, according to the preliminary data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

The rise came mostly from an increase in commission revenue from their fund management and investment counseling, which expanded 38.3 percent, or 1.23 trillion won on-year to 4.45 trillion won, the data showed.

Of the asset managing firms, 310 companies posted a profit, while 38 others logged a loss last year.

Their return on equity, a major gauge of profitability, rose 5 percentage points on-year to 20.2 percent.

As of end-2021, their combined assets had amounted to 1,322.2 trillion won, up 10.4 percent from 1,197.8 trillion won tallied a year earlier, the data showed. (Yonhap)