Dear Investors,
This is Dooyong Kim from Must Asset Management.

It has been six months since our last year-end letter. I’d like to sincerely thank you for your continued support and trust in MUST throughout the first half of 2025.

[Performance Overview]
Unlike last year, the first half of 2025 saw strong performance in the Korean equity market, while the U.S. market remained more subdued. Year-to-date returns were as follows: KOSPI: +28.0%, KOSDAQ: +15.2%, S&P 500: +5.5%, NASDAQ: +5.5%.
MUST’s performance for 1H 2025:

• Korea Focus Funds (Fund 1–8, etc.): +40.1% to +41.1% (vs. KOSPI +28.0%, KOSDAQ +15.2%)
• Korea Only Fund (Fund 9): +51.6%
• U.S. Focus Fund (Fund 10): +7.4% (vs. S&P500 +5.5%, NASDAQ +5.5%)

* Korea Only Fund invests exclusively in Korean stocks. Korea Focus Funds allocate approximately 75% to Korean stocks and 25% to other markets, including the U.S. U.S. Focus Fund invests about 75% in U.S. equities and 25% in Korean and other markets.

[Market Context & Our Approach]
The Korean equity market experienced a strong rally in the first half of the year, driven by three key forces: (1) the robust earnings growth of select companies with solid fundamentals; (2) institutional support, most notably the revision of the Commercial Act, spearheaded by the government and financial regulators; and (3) growing efforts by both retail and institutional investors to improve corporate governance.
This market environment also brought with it notable volatility—at times rational, at times not—resulting in wide and frequent swings in share prices.
As a fund that does not track any benchmark but instead targets absolute returns, we maintained a balanced and independent investment approach, rather than chasing market trends. That said, volatile markets often present outsized contrarian opportunities to disciplined investors, and we worked diligently not to miss them. More importantly, we focused our efforts on identifying and investing in high-quality businesses with strong fundamentals that we believe can perform well regardless of market direction.
Fortunately, this approach allowed us to deliver respectable performance—both on an absolute basis and relative to the market. While we recognize that assessing returns every six months may not always be meaningful, we are grateful to be able to share solid results amid what was, at times, a turbulent and disorienting market.

[Global Perspective & Portfolio Diversification]
Even during the strong first half for the Korean market, we continued to allocate a portion of our portfolio to overseas investments, primarily in the U.S.—supported by a full and ongoing research effort. This is because truly exceptional companies, on an absolute basis, are not confined to any one country but are distributed across various markets. Moreover, constructing a portfolio with geographically diversified holdings—especially among companies of similar quality—can provide greater resilience against unforeseen risks such as black swan events.
Roughly a year ago, there was a prevailing sentiment that the U.S. market would rise indefinitely while the Korean market was in terminal decline. Yet as the first half of 2025 has shown, such views are often rhetorical, and can prove either right or wrong in hindsight. Regardless of where the current market sentiment stands, we strive to remain balanced and focused, continuing our pursuit of absolute returns by identifying investment opportunities both in and outside of Korea.

[Final Thoughts]
Lastly, we want to share that at MUST, we remain mindful of the common pitfalls that investment firms can fall into during times of relative success—whether in business, investment performance, or market conditions.
If we were simply an investing “company,” we might focus on rowing faster when the tide is favorable. But because we are first and foremost an “investing” company, we believe it’s more important to check whether our boat and oars are in good condition while the waters are calm—so we are prepared for the inevitable times when the tide recedes, and we must find our own way forward.

We are deeply grateful for your continued partnership, and we look forward to sharing another update six months from now.

Dooyong Kim
Must Asset Management