Intense Competition in the 100 Trillion ETF Market... KB Asset Management and Hanwha Asset Management Making Strides

No.1 Samsung Asset Management, No.2 Mirae Asset Global Investments' Overwhelming Lead
Based on 3-Month Returns, 3 Products from KB Asset Management and Hanwha Asset Management Rank Within Top 10

In the domestic Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) industry, which has surpassed a market size of 100 trillion won, competition among asset management companies has intensified, with KB Asset Management and Hanwha Asset Management recently making significant advances.

According to the Korea Securities Depository's securities information portal, SEIBRO, on the 23rd, two products from KB Asset Management ranked among the top 10 ETFs in terms of returns over the past three months. KB STAR Global Nuclear iSelect and KB STAR Palladium Futures Inverse (H) recorded returns of 15.91% and 14.78%, ranking 2nd and 4th respectively among all ETFs. The rankings over the past month are even more remarkable. During this period, three KB Asset Management products?KB STAR 30-Year Treasury Bond Leveraged KAP (Synthetic) (1st place, 26.09%), KB STAR Fn Venture Capital Company Theme (4th place, 21.82%), and KB STAR Game Theme (9th place, 19.39%)?were all within the top 10.

ETF Returns Since the Beginning of the Year (Left) and Over the Past 3 Months

Hanwha Asset Management's performance management also stood out. Over the past three months, ARIRANG US Tech 10 Leveraged iSelect (Synthetic) achieved a 14.91% return, ranking 3rd, while ARIRANG Global DRAM Semiconductor iSelect recorded an 11.6% return, placing 9th.

However, the ETF market is still dominated by Samsung Asset Management in first place and Mirae Asset Management in second, both showing overwhelming superiority in terms of assets under management and returns. Since the beginning of the year, each of their ETFs has appeared three times in the top 10 by returns. Nonetheless, recently, KB Asset Management and Hanwha Asset Management have demonstrated excellent management performance, leading to changes in the three-month return rankings.

The domestic ETF market surpassed a combined net asset value of 100 trillion won for asset management companies in June. This milestone was reached 21 years after the market's inception in October 2002, which started at 355.2 billion won. The net asset size reached 1 trillion won in August 2006 and 50 trillion won in December 2019. Since then, with the COVID-19 pandemic and increased market liquidity, the market has grown approximately twofold in just three and a half years.

During this process, competition among asset management companies has become even fiercer. Various types of ETFs, such as those combined with Target Date Funds (TDFs) and monthly dividend ETFs, have emerged as growth drivers for the market. This year, thematic products related to secondary batteries and bio-healthcare ETFs were consecutively listed and gained popularity. It is evaluated that challenges from mid-tier companies have stimulated existing large asset managers, fostering positive competition. Currently, the market is dominated by Samsung Asset Management (40.62%) and Mirae Asset Management (36.76%). KB Asset Management (8.17%), Korea Investment Management (4.69%), Hanwha Asset Management (2.41%), Kiwoom Asset Management (2.40%), and Shinhan Asset Management (1.99%) follow behind.

Jeon Gyun, a researcher at Samsung Securities, said, "As of last October, the domestic ETF market recorded a net asset value of 108.7 trillion won and 788 listed products, representing growth of 38% and 18% respectively compared to the end of last year." He added, "Asset managers who had been observing are now actively entering the market, taking advantage of the ETF market's growth and the spread of active ETFs." He further noted, "With the implementation of the default option system (pre-designated management system) for retirement pensions this year, Target Date Funds (TDFs) are growing, and the ETF market's growth is expected to continue for the time being."

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