Asset managers’ sway on the South Korean stock market is on the wane, with the portion of stocks in their fund portfolios to the total market capitalization hitting the lowest ratio in 10 years, data showed Tuesday.

According to the data compiled by the Korea Financial Investment Association, stocks in asset managers’ investment funds accounted for 5.56 percent of the total market cap at the end of last year, the lowest since 2004 when the comparable figure was 3.25 percent.

After peaking at 9.63 percent in 2008, the figure has declined steadily to stay at around 6 percent.

The comparable figures for 2010, 2011 and 2012 were 6.27 percent, 6.40 percent and 6.09 percent, respectively. In 2013, the figure fell further to 5.89 percent, according to the data.

The sharp decline in asset managers’ footing came as investors remained cautious about investing in stocks amid the lackluster performance of the local bourse, analysts said.

“Investors’ fund redemption continued last year, investors’ appetite for risky assets was reduced as well,” said Oh Eun-soo, an analyst at Hyundai Securities. (Yonhap)