National Pension Service's Assets Draw Investment Wizards

Global financial wizards have been making a beeline for the National Pension Service since it emerged as the world's fourth largest pension fund last year. Stephen Schwarzman, the chairman of giant private equity fund Blackstone Group, and Jay Collins, the co-head of Citigroup's public sector group will visit the NPS this week.

The NPS ranked sixth in the world in 2008 but late last year jumped to fourth place, outdistancing the U.S.' largest pension fund, the California Public Employees' Retirement System.

The NPS's fund amounted to about W280 trillion (US$1=W1,135) at the end of last year. Since January, there has been an influx of a new fund of W2 trillion every month, so the NPS is likely to emerge as the world's third largest pension fund, overtaking ABP of the Netherlands by around 2012. Currently the world's largest is GPI of Japan, which manages more than $1 trillion.