Korea Investment & Securities, 13 Trillion Won This Year Alone... Unabated Retail Bond Craze

Korea Investment & Securities, a subsidiary of Korea Financial Group, announced on the 19th that it has sold approximately 13 trillion won worth of retail bonds through the end of April this year. Following the breakthrough of 34 trillion won in annual sales in 2022, the enthusiasm for bond investment among individual investors continues into the first half of this year.

Until now, bonds have been low-volatility products seeking 'deposit interest rate + α,' with large transaction amounts primarily attracting high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors. Recently, as coupon rates have increased, individual investors have become more active in bond investments. Additionally, the expectation of bond price increases amid observations that interest rates are nearing their peak is analyzed as a key factor behind the popularity of bonds.

The price increase of long-term bonds, including government bonds, has been significant. For example, the price of the bond known as 'Gukgochae 19-6,' officially 'Gukgo01125-3909,' rose by 21% as of May 11 compared to last year's low point. Gukgochae 19-6 is a 20-year maturity long-term government bond issued in 2019. After being issued at a low interest rate of around 1%, its price fell due to rising interest rates, but recently, expectations of capital gains from trading have increased.

Among the bonds sold by Korea Investment & Securities, the proportion of long-term bonds with maturities of 5 years or more increased by 15 percentage points from 4% at the beginning of the year to 19% at the end of March. In the case of corporate bonds, high-quality bonds with credit ratings from A- to AAA+ accounted for 99%.

Kim Seonghwan, head of the Individual Customer Group at Korea Investment & Securities, said, "Many customers who have recently invested in bonds are reinvesting," adding, "We are strengthening our market competitiveness in response to the growing interest of individual investors by quickly supplying various bonds tailored to market conditions and expanding frontline staff training on related products."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.