Shinhan Asset Management SOL AI Semiconductor Materials, Parts and Equipment ETF Surpasses 800 Billion Won in Net Assets

Net assets up more than 300 billion won year-to-date
Memory semiconductor supercycle broadening
Spotlight on domestic semiconductor materials, parts and equipment companies

The net asset value of "SOL AI Semiconductor Materials, Parts and Equipment," the largest domestic ETF focused on intensive investment in semiconductor materials, parts and equipment, has surpassed 800 billion won.

According to Shinhan Asset Management on the 10th, "SOL AI Semiconductor Materials, Parts and Equipment" has shown steep growth, increasing by more than 300 billion won in about one month since it first exceeded 500 billion won in net assets.

In particular, while a favorable cycle for memory semiconductors continues, it is notable that materials, parts and equipment companies, whose share price gains had been relatively limited compared with integrated device manufacturers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix through the second half of last year, have shown a strong rebound since the beginning of this year.

Many of the major ETF holdings, including Hanmi Semiconductor (55.26%), Leeno Industrial (64.18%), Wonik IPS (72.46%), and EO Technics (53.68%), have outperformed Samsung Electronics (38.78%) and SK Hynix (36.25%) in terms of share price gains since the start of the year.

The SOL AI Semiconductor Materials, Parts and Equipment ETF has also continued its upward trend, recording year-to-date and 1-month returns of 38.87% and 28.68%, respectively. In particular, its recent 1-month return significantly outpaces that of Samsung Electronics (19.71%) and SK Hynix (19.22%).

On the demand side, the sharp increase in net buying by individual investors stands out. Since the beginning of the year, individual investors have recorded net purchases of about 107.3 billion won in the SOL AI Semiconductor Materials, Parts and Equipment ETF, more than five times the amount in the fourth quarter of last year (19.6 billion won).

The SOL AI Semiconductor Materials, Parts and Equipment ETF is a product that selects and invests in domestic AI semiconductor materials, parts and equipment companies with core competitiveness. It is designed to capture the structural growth trend of the overall semiconductor industry through a portfolio that covers both front-end and back-end semiconductor processes.

Key constituents include Isu Petasys, which has established a foothold in the high-performance semiconductor substrate field; Hanmi Semiconductor, which has global competitiveness in the TC bonder segment; and Leeno Industrial, which aligns with the spread of on-device AI. In addition, it encompasses the entire semiconductor value chain, including semiconductor equipment companies such as EO Technics, Wonik IPS, HPS, Jusung Engineering, and Techwing; semiconductor components companies such as ISC, S&S Tech, and TCK; and OSAT companies such as Hana Micron.

Kim Junghyun, Head of ETF Business at Shinhan Asset Management, explained, "If 2023 to 2024 was a period focused on 'GPU shortage,' then from 2025 onward we are seeing a 'memory catch-up' phase," adding, "The strong share price rallies of Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron have led the start of the semiconductor supercycle." He continued, "As market consensus has formed around the importance of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) being as critical as high-performance computing, the benefits of the supercycle are rapidly spreading to the memory sector, and the time has come to focus on domestic semiconductor materials, parts and equipment companies."

In addition, as HBM adoption has become essential for running AI accelerators, major memory companies are executing massive CAPEX to expand production capacity. However, because the speed and scale of AI infrastructure build-out are outpacing the increase in supply, the supercycle characterized by tight supply-demand conditions is continuing even as investment expands.

In this process, starting from the middle of last year, spot prices for DDR4 and DDR5 have surged to more than 8 times and 6 times their previous levels, respectively. Furthermore, as the AI inference market expands and demand for large-capacity data storage increases, SSD demand is rising, while conservative capacity expansion by suppliers is amplifying upward pressure on NAND prices.

Kim stressed, "Due to supply-demand imbalances, SSD prices have more than doubled in a short period, and market interest is spreading even to the HDD space, so the memory shortage phenomenon is likely to continue for the time being," adding, "In a phase where investment leverage is increasing around memory semiconductors, domestic materials, parts and equipment companies should continue to be closely watched."

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