Kang Shin-woo, chief investment officer of Korea Investment Management, has been designated as the first CEO of the merged entity between Hanwha Investment Trust Manager and Prudential Asset Management.

With the appointment of the 50-year-old fund manager, Hanwha Investment is poised to revamp its management structure and has set the goal of becoming the nation’s No. 1 asset management player.

Kang has been better known as a talented “money-spinner.” Last year, Hong-Kong-based magazine Asian Investor picked his company as the best on-shore fund house in Korea.

He was selected as the best fund manager by the Asian Wall Street Journal and was awarded by the Asset Management Association of Korea for generating high profit-making rate.

After graduating from the Seoul National University, he has been working for the securities industry since 1988.

“We are aiming at grabbing the nation’s top asset management since the merger,” a Hanwha spokesman said. “We view that Kang, with more than 20-year career and noteworthy capability, is eligible for the post.”

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)