Daol Investment & Securities

DAOL Investment & Securities was founded in 1981 and changed its name from KTB Investment & Securities in 2022; it operates as a mid-sized comprehensive financial investment firm engaged in financial investment, collective investment, and venture capital business.

The largest shareholder is Chairman Lee Byung-chul of DAOL Financial Group, who held a 28.75% stake as of August 2026 after the ownership dispute was finally resolved in his favor last year.

Key subsidiaries include DAOL Savings Bank, DAOL Asset Management, and KTB Network, with DAOL Savings Bank and DAOL Asset Management posting first-half 2026 net income of KRW 11.9 billion and KRW 7.8 billion respectively, contributing to group results.

Revenue is weighted toward trading and proprietary investment, with financial asset valuation and disposal gains as the largest component, followed by fee income, interest income, dividend income, and foreign exchange gains.

Organizationally, the trading and equity derivatives divisions drive trading income, the institutional sales division leverages an institutional network, the strategic sales division launched in the second half of 2025 provides tailored solutions such as acquisition and structured financing, and the global markets division began full operation in 2026.

The firm has historically carried a relatively high proportion of real estate finance among domestic brokers, and its investment banking division is now refocused on reducing project financing exposure. The retail segment is pursuing customer acquisition and interest income growth through IT and fintech partnerships.

In terms of equity capital and brokerage market share, the firm remains behind the ten largest domestic securities firms, making revenue diversification an ongoing challenge.

Annual results show revenue of KRW 1,842.0 billion, operating profit of KRW 107.0 billion, and owners' net income of KRW 61.7 billion in 2022, before the firm swung to a loss in 2023 with revenue of KRW 1,508.4 billion, an operating loss of KRW 62.0 billion, and an owners' net loss of KRW 10.9 billion; the loss widened in 2024 as revenue fell to KRW 1,442.6 billion with an operating loss of KRW 74.9 billion and an owners' net loss of KRW 48.6 billion.

In 2025, revenue rose to KRW 1,714.5 billion with operating profit of KRW 33.7 billion and owners' net income of KRW 40.5 billion, marking a return to annual profit after two years of losses.

On a quarterly basis, second-quarter 2025 revenue was KRW 503.2 billion with operating profit of KRW 19.6 billion and owners' net income of KRW 19.5 billion, before revenue slowed to KRW 301.0 billion in the third quarter with operating profit of KRW 11.5 billion and net income of KRW 10.3 billion, and the fourth quarter saw revenue of KRW 473.1 billion with an operating loss of KRW 3.4 billion and owners' net income shrinking to about KRW 0.6 billion.

Entering 2026, first-quarter revenue jumped to KRW 769.1 billion with operating profit of KRW 9.2 billion and owners' net income of KRW 12.5 billion, and second-quarter revenue expanded further to KRW 1,060.5 billion with operating profit of KRW 17.1 billion and owners' net income of KRW 14.0 billion, showing a clear increase in quarterly revenue scale.

However, the expansion in revenue did not translate proportionally into margin expansion, as operating margins in the first and second quarters of 2026 remained lower than in the second and third quarters of 2025.

This reflects a structural feature of a trading- and proprietary-investment-driven revenue model, where gross valuation and disposal gains on financial assets are recorded on a large scale within revenue, weakening the correlation between revenue and profit.

The company attributed the first-half 2026 improvement to expanded trading income from the trading and equity derivatives divisions, stable income generation by the institutional sales division, and the early establishment of the strategic sales and global markets divisions.

The domestic securities industry has seen improved results at both large and small-to-mid-sized brokers, supported by a sustained rise in the KOSPI index and active trading.

Analysts note that the recovery at smaller brokers stems more from eased provisioning burdens tied to real estate project financing than from a direct windfall from market strength.

DAOL Investment & Securities has been cited as the domestic broker with the highest exposure to real estate finance, and its return to profit has been interpreted by some as a signal that the industry-wide real estate project financing crisis is stabilizing.

Still, investment-type real estate exposure accumulated during the low-interest-rate era remains an unresolved task, and concerns persist over rising substandard-or-below loans as the exposure mix shifts from bridge loans toward main project financing.

The gap in brokerage commission income between the ten largest securities firms and the rest of the industry remains substantial, reflecting the continued dominance of large brokers with equity capital above KRW 3 trillion in the retail brokerage market.

As a result, mid-sized firms including DAOL are pursuing revenue diversification through trading and proprietary investment, structured investment banking, and synergies with affiliated savings banks and asset managers.

In its first-half 2026 results announcement, the company said its diversification and risk management efforts had borne fruit, putting earnings on a stabilization track, and stated it would continue prioritizing sales activity to strengthen its earnings base.

The strategic sales division, launched in the second half of 2025, has quickly delivered results through tailored institutional solutions such as acquisition and structured financing, while the global markets division launched around the same time began full operation in 2026 and is expected by the company to become a new revenue source.

The investment banking division continues to reduce real estate project financing exposure, while the retail division focuses on customer acquisition and interest income growth through IT and fintech partnerships.

On governance, Chairman Lee Byung-chul's expanded stake removed uncertainty over control of the company, and CEO Hwang Jun-ho secured reappointment at this year's shareholder meeting, extending his third term through March 2027.

However, credit rating agencies continue to flag the potential for expanded credit costs as distressed real estate project sites are worked out, as well as capital adequacy metrics that remain relatively weak, meaning it remains to be seen whether earnings stabilization will translate directly into a credit rating upgrade.