Kiwoom Securities said on Thursday that its retail wealth management (WM) balance has surpassed 9 trillion won.

The company cited increased demand for tax-saving products and process improvements that enhanced customer convenience as factors behind the growth. It added that marketing activities tailored to customer needs were also effective.

Tax-saving products such as pension savings and individual savings accounts (ISA) account for about 60 percent of total WM assets.

Kiwoom Securities launched a beta version of its artificial intelligence (AI) wealth management chatbot, KiwoMe, in March last year. It has about 230,000 subscribers over 10 months since the launch.

Kiwoom Securities is working to upgrade the service so it can provide hyper-personalised wealth management services, including offering portfolios tailored to an investor's situation.

In August last year, it created the Wealth Management CX Innovation Team, a dedicated unit for wealth management infrastructure. It aims to complete its wealth management business by launching retirement pensions in the first half of this year.

Jungbeom Kim (김정범), head of Kiwoom Securities' wealth management division, said, "This year will be the first year for the wealth management business to make a leap to the next level." He added, "We will make it easier for customers to access wealth management services through breakthrough improvements with a customised platform."