"Semiconductors and Defense Led the Way"... F&Guide Surpasses 60 Trillion Won in ETF Net Assets

F&Guide, a leading private index provider in Korea, has ushered in the era of 60 trillion won in ETF net assets, fueled by the popularity of key theme indices such as semiconductors and defense.

On April 22, F&Guide announced that the total net assets of ETFs based on its indices have surpassed 60 trillion won. The net assets of F&Guide index-based ETFs, which stood at around 33 trillion won at the beginning of the year, have nearly doubled in just four months.

The growth of the ETF market is attributed to several independent factors: earnings surprises in the semiconductor sector, geopolitical benefits for defense and shipbuilding, and increased demand for income driven by high-dividend stocks. As Korea’s major semiconductor companies posted record-high first-quarter earnings, reflecting surging demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and artificial intelligence (AI) servers, inflows into related ETFs have expanded.

Recently, there has been a clear move to expand the scope of index calculation from a domestic stock focus to global markets. In particular, since the beginning of the year, major ETFs tracking F&Guide indices have delivered strong returns, including ‘KoAct Hydrogen Power ESS Infra Active’ (47.7%), ‘SOL AI Semiconductor TOP2 Plus’ (28.1%), and ‘SOL Dividend Payout Top Picks Active’ (22.8%). In addition, as the space industry gains attention amid expectations for the SpaceX IPO, F&Guide has accelerated the development of overseas theme indices, such as providing the benchmark for Korea Investment Management’s ‘ACE U.S. Space Tech Active’ ETF.

An F&Guide representative stated, “The key to competitiveness is the ability to quickly turn globally recognized themes into indices,” adding, “We plan to continue introducing innovative indices that reflect a diverse range of domestic and international assets and themes.”

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