Shinhan Asset Management Lists New SOL AI Semiconductor TOP2 Plus ETF

Shinhan Asset Management announced on March 17 that it will newly list the "SOL AI Semiconductor TOP2 Plus" Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) on the Korea Exchange.

This ETF includes both Samsung Electronics and SK hynix with a 25% allocation each. In addition, it incorporates high-quality material, parts, and equipment (so-called "Sobu-Jang") stocks expected to benefit from the semiconductor supercycle, such as Samsung Electro-Mechanics, ISU Petasys, Leeno Industrial, and Wonik IPS. This structure allows investors to capture both large-cap semiconductor companies and key value chain players within the sector.

Recently, the semiconductor market has reached another major inflection point, driven by the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI). Beyond generative AI, demand is rapidly expanding into areas such as AI agents, sovereign AI, customized cloud computing, autonomous driving, and robotics. As a result, the importance of high bandwidth memory (HBM), which is essential for high-performance computing and data processing, has grown significantly. Global memory manufacturers are fiercely competing to develop high-performance HBM in response to these trends.

As production capacity is focused on HBM, a supply shortage of standard DRAM continues. The more autonomous driving and physical AI spread, the more the general-purpose memory market is set to grow exponentially. For the time being, supply constraints in memory semiconductors are expected to persist. Accordingly, analysts note that Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which hold leadership in the memory market, stand to benefit most directly.

Kim Junghyun, Head of ETF Business Group at Shinhan Asset Management, stated, "Even as demand for memory semiconductors is exploding and supply constraints are unprecedented, expanding production capacity is structurally difficult in the short term. This makes it highly likely that Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will be at the center of the upcoming memory semiconductor supercycle." He added, "Although share prices for both companies have risen sharply over the past six months, their earnings growth has outpaced share price increases, resulting in little change to valuation levels. We believe there is still further upside potential based on fundamentals."

With this new ETF listing, Shinhan Asset Management has further strengthened its domestic semiconductor ETF lineup, adding to its broad-based "SOL AI Semiconductor Sobu-Jang" that invests across the material, parts, and equipment sector, as well as the more segmented "SOL Semiconductor Front-End Process" and "SOL Semiconductor Back-End Process" funds. The addition of the SOL AI Semiconductor TOP2 Plus, which focuses on large-cap stocks such as Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and SK Square, enhances the range of options for investors.

Kim also commented, "This product has the highest proportion of large-cap stocks among domestic semiconductor ETFs, enabling more active participation in the large-cap semiconductor rally led by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Used in conjunction with the existing 'SOL AI Semiconductor Sobu-Jang,' investors can gain a more three-dimensional exposure to the overall domestic semiconductor market."

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