Samsung Leads ETF Net Asset Value... Shinhan Shows Strong Performance with 220% Growth Rate

Domestic ETF Net Assets Near 100 Trillion Won at 96 Trillion
Individual Investors Prefer Mirae Asset TIGER ETF Brand
KB Offers the Largest Domestic Lineup with 23 Types of Bond ETFs

The domestic Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) market is on the verge of surpassing 100 trillion won.

According to the Korea Financial Investment Association's comprehensive statistics service, the total net assets of ETFs managed by 23 domestic asset management companies increased by 24.5313 trillion won (34.3%) from 71.4288 trillion won on June 13 last year to 95.9601 trillion won as of the 9th of this month.

In particular, Samsung Asset Management, which ranks first in ETF net assets, saw its net assets grow from 29.3383 trillion won during the same period last year to 40.1895 trillion won this year, surpassing 40 trillion won. This represents a 37% increase. Samsung KODEX ETFs have increased their net assets by more than 10 trillion won in about two years. Currently, Samsung KODEX has listed a total of 164 products, the largest number domestically, with 11 products having net assets exceeding 1 trillion won each.

The second-ranked Mirae Asset Global Investments' net assets increased by 26.2%, from 27.2507 trillion won last year to 34.3798 trillion won this year. Mirae Asset's TIGER ETFs are a preferred brand among individual investors. According to FnGuide, as of the end of May, the assets under management (AUM) held by individual investors in 717 ETF listings on the Korea Exchange amounted to 24.3 trillion won. Among these, TIGER ETFs accounted for the largest individual investor AUM at 11.7 trillion won. Mirae Asset is actively expanding overseas and manages global ETFs worth 121 trillion won as of the end of April.

Ranking third is KB Asset Management, which saw a 54% increase from 5.496 trillion won last year to 8.4645 trillion won this year. The recent market presented an excellent opportunity for KB Asset Management, which has continuously invested in bond-type ETFs. Since launching Korea's first bond-type ETF product in 2009, KB Asset Management has steadily accumulated operational know-how and currently holds the largest lineup of 23 domestic bond-type ETFs in Korea.

Fourth place is Korea Investment Management, which grew 34.4% from 3.2647 trillion won last year to 4.3887 trillion won this year. Since the appointment of CEO Bae Jae-gyu, known as the "father of ETFs," the company has maintained its growth momentum. After rebranding to ACE, it has shown strength in thematic ETFs. The ACE Global TOP4 Solactive has recorded the highest returns among semiconductor ETFs (excluding leveraged) since the beginning of the year, and the recently launched ACE Tesla Value Chain Active ETF surpassed 10 billion won in net individual purchases within two weeks. Last month, the company announced significant changes by recruiting Executive Director Lee Sang-won, who led the investment strategy team at Samsung Asset Management, and establishing a product strategy headquarters.

Fifth place is Kiwoom Asset Management, which increased by 37% from 1.8785 trillion won to 2.5728 trillion won. Despite allegations of stock price manipulation involving former Dow Kiwoom Group Chairman Kim Ik-rae, the ETF market has shown steady growth.

There were changes in rankings between sixth and seventh place. NH-Amundi Asset Management, which ranked sixth last year with 1.7288 trillion won, experienced an unusual decline in the ETF market this year, recording 1.502 trillion won and dropping to seventh place. Hanwha Asset Management, which was seventh last year with 1.6172 trillion won, rose to sixth place this year with 2.345 trillion won. Hanwha Asset Management's rise in ranking was driven by proactive and differentiated product strategies. The K-Defense ETF, listed in January this year, currently has net assets of 39.5 billion won, approaching the 40 billion won mark. Since listing, it has achieved a return of about 30%, with individual investors net purchasing approximately 18.9 billion won, successfully attracting individual investor interest. Strengthening the lineup of bond-type ETFs has led to significant capital inflows, resulting in about a 62% increase in net assets compared to the end of last year, showing the highest growth rate among asset managers with net assets exceeding 2 trillion won.

Eighth place is Shinhan Asset Management, which grew 219% from 429.6 billion won last year to 1.3705 trillion won this year. Shinhan SOL ETFs gained popularity with differentiated products based on investor needs, such as Korea's first monthly dividend and materials, parts, and equipment (SoBuJang) ETFs. Following the 'SOL US Dividend Dow Jones' ETF, which has ranked first in net individual purchases since the beginning of the year, the 'SoBuJang Series' launched at the end of April also attracted attention. Kim Jeong-hyun, head of Shinhan Asset Management's ETF business division, said, "Despite the challenging financial market environment, the domestic ETF market continues to grow steadily. Since the beginning of the year, interest in bond-type ETFs has increased due to expectations of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy and rate cuts. ETFs investing with differentiated strategies in megatrend industries such as semiconductors and secondary batteries are showing strong performance."

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