Korea Investment Management's 'ACE Global Semiconductor TOP4 Plus ETF' Surpasses KRW 1.2 Trillion in Net Assets

Korea Investment Management's 'ACE Global Semiconductor TOP4 Plus' Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) has surpassed KRW 1.2 trillion in net assets, posting a cumulative return close to 600% since its listing.

On April 24, Korea Investment Management announced that, as of the closing price on April 22, the ETF's net asset value stood at KRW 1.2029 trillion. This represents an increase of approximately 19.96% in just over two months after the net assets exceeded KRW 1 trillion at the end of February.

Since its listing in 2022, this product has recorded a return of 596.08%, ranking among the top five out of 48 domestic and overseas ETFs that include 'semiconductor' in their names (excluding leveraged and inverse products). Its one-year and three-year cumulative returns are 218.24% and 462.70%, respectively, significantly outperforming the average returns for similar products, which are 208.99% and 320.47%.

The strong performance has led to an active inflow of funds. Since the beginning of the year, individual investors have made net purchases of more than KRW 130.8 billion in the ACE Global Semiconductor TOP4 Plus ETF. Over the past year, net purchases by individuals have exceeded KRW 199 billion. Such inflows are attributed to the growth of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry and rising demand for AI semiconductors. In fact, TSMC's first-quarter net profit increased 58% year-on-year, and SK hynix posted a record-high first-quarter operating profit of KRW 3.76 trillion.

This ETF invests in the four dominant companies representing the major segments of the semiconductor industry: SK hynix (memory semiconductors), Nvidia (system semiconductors), TSMC (foundry), and ASML (semiconductor equipment). Rather than focusing on legacy semiconductor firms, the ETF is designed to increase exposure to the core AI value chain and directly capture the benefits of the AI cycle. As of April 23, SK hynix accounts for the highest portfolio weighting in the ETF at 25.46%.

Nam Yongsoo, Head of ETF Division at Korea Investment Management, stated, "Semiconductors are often compared to crude oil for the AI era, and the importance of semiconductors driving AI technological innovation is expected to grow even further." He added, "As long as the megatrend of AI continues, the positions of the four core companies at the top of the value chain are unlikely to be easily shaken."

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