Samsung Asset Management's KODEX Global Obesity Treatment TOP2 Plus... Net Assets Surpass 100 Billion Won in One Month

Samsung Asset Management announced on the 14th that the net assets of KODEX Global Obesity Treatment TOP2 Plus, which was listed on the 14th of last month, reached 116.8 billion KRW within just one month.

KODEX Global Obesity Treatment TOP2 Plus is the only exchange-traded fund (ETF) that includes not only the absolute leaders in the obesity treatment market, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, but also emerging strong pharmaceutical companies Viking Therapeutics and Zealand Pharma. As the first ETF composed solely of obesity treatments, it recorded a 14.3% return within one month of listing, driven by the recent rise of these strong pharmaceutical companies.

Recently, Viking Therapeutics' clinical-stage new drug announced clinical results showing a 14.7% weight reduction in just 13 weeks, causing its stock to surge 121% in a single day. This figure far surpasses the currently marketed Novo Nordisk’s “Wegovy” and Eli Lilly’s “Zepbound,” attracting global investors’ attention to the obesity treatment market, with reports from global investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and Jefferies suggesting that Viking Therapeutics’ drug could become the “Best-in-class” in its category.

This market interest naturally extended to the ETF market, with KODEX Global Obesity Treatment TOP2 Plus seeing net purchases by individual investors reach 52 billion KRW since its listing, ranking first in net individual purchases among newly launched equity ETFs this year.

Capitalizing on this advantage, KODEX Global Obesity Treatment TOP2 Plus selected 10 companies currently conducting clinical trials for obesity treatments with the US FDA or European EMA, based on market capitalization. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, which already generate significant sales, are each allocated 25%, while the other eight stocks are equally weighted at 6.25% each. This equal-weighted structure reflects the fact that smaller pharmaceutical companies with limited market capitalization are becoming acquisition targets for large pharmaceutical companies.

As of this date, the index composition is Novo Nordisk 25.3%, Eli Lilly 23.4%, Viking Therapeutics 16.0%, and Zealand 9.5%. After the last regular adjustment, the eight stocks other than the top two were equally weighted at 6.25%. Subsequently, positive clinical results from Viking Therapeutics and Zealand led to sharp stock price increases, reflecting the market gains.

Kim Cheonheung, manager at Samsung Asset Management, said, “As the obesity treatment market begins to expand globally this year, the paradigm shift recognizing obesity as a disease will broaden. Future additional return points for the obesity treatment ETF are expected to be clinical expansions for other diseases, clinical results of next-generation obesity treatments, and finally, whether there will be expanded facility investments to meet market demand.”

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