Samsung Asset Management's KODEX US AI Power Core Infrastructure ETF Achieves 58.3% YTD Return

As investment fever for the artificial intelligence (AI) power industry heats up among domestic investors, Samsung Asset Management's exchange-traded fund (ETF) investing in key U.S. AI power infrastructure companies is drawing attention for its overwhelming performance.

On May 12, Samsung Asset Management announced that the year-to-date return of the 'KODEX US AI Power Core Infrastructure' ETF had reached 58.3%. The return over the past month was 23.0%, the three-month return was 41.0%, and the one-year return stood at 115.6%.

Thanks to this rapid growth, the fund's net assets have swelled to 1.967 trillion won, putting it on the verge of surpassing the 2 trillion won mark. As its appeal as a long-term growth theme becomes more prominent, the net buying volume by individual investors over the past year has also approached approximately 341.3 billion won.

The key driver behind the rising returns is the surge in electricity demand driven by the advancement of the AI industry. As AI services evolve beyond simple text to images, videos, and even 'AI agents' capable of autonomous decision-making and action, the electricity consumption of data centers has increased exponentially. In fact, Goldman Sachs Research forecasts that, due to the increase in AI agent traffic in the U.S., additional power consumption will rise by about 25% by 2030. In response, global big tech companies such as Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon are all raising their capital expenditure (CAPEX) outlooks for data center expansion and are making power infrastructure their top priority.

With the expansion of AI data centers, performance at U.S. power infrastructure companies has improved significantly, and the stock prices of major ETF holdings have soared. This has led to higher ETF returns. GE Vernova, a global leader in gas turbines and a top holding in the fund, saw its stock price jump roughly 14% after its earnings announcement, while Bloom Energy, a fuel cell-based power solutions company, climbed about 27% following its results. Notably, Sterling Infrastructure, a power infrastructure construction company accounting for about 8.6% of the fund, surged around 52% after its earnings report, significantly contributing to the strong performance of the KODEX US AI Power Core Infrastructure ETF.

Samsung Asset Management explained that the secret behind its differentiated performance, compared to similar products in the industry, lay in strategically increasing exposure to core beneficiaries of the AI era rather than simply investing in the power theme. As a result, inflows of investor capital are also accelerating rapidly.

Cheonheung Kim, manager at Samsung Asset Management, said, "We selectively included power equipment, generation, and infrastructure construction companies expected to benefit from the expansion of AI data centers and achieved high returns," adding, "For investors who want to capture the full benefits of the structurally growing AI power market, a power infrastructure ETF will be an essential investment destination."

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