ARIRANG K Defense ETF Individual Net Buying Leader

by Park Soyeon

Published 24 Apr.2023 15:45(KST)

Hanwha Asset Management announced on the 21st that the ‘ARIRANG K Defense Fn ETF’ has shown the highest return performance among newly listed equity ETFs this year and is the most net-purchased stock by individual investors.

The ‘ARIRANG K Defense Fn ETF’ has recorded a return of 28.94% since its listing on January 5th, showing the best performance among newly listed equity ETFs this year.

Net purchases by individual investors have also continued due to the excellent performance. During the same period, individual investors net-purchased approximately 8.6 billion KRW. The total net asset value also increased by more than 11 billion KRW compared to the time of the new listing, reaching 27.1 billion KRW.

This ETF is the first domestic product investing in the growth potential of the Korean defense industry, and it is evaluated as having met investors’ demand for domestic defense industry investments.

The ‘ARIRANG K Defense Fn ETF’ invests in 10 representative companies engaged in the defense industry among domestic listed companies. Major constituent stocks include △Hanwha Aerospace △Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) △Hyundai Rotem △Hanwha △Hanwha Systems △LIG Nex1 △Poongsan △SNT Motiv △SeAH Besteel Holdings △Firstec, which produce Korea’s representative weapons such as the K9 self-propelled howitzer, K2 tank, and FA50 light attack aircraft.

Kim Seong-hoon, Head of the ETF Business Division at Hanwha Asset Management, stated, “As positive news regarding overseas orders of major domestic defense companies continues, expectations for K Defense are expanding again. With ongoing favorable export trends in the defense industry this year, expectations for defense companies’ performance are growing, and benefiting from the expansion of defense budgets worldwide due to the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war, the performance growth of domestic defense companies is expected to continue.”

Hanwha Asset Management’s ARIRANG ETF has actively introduced four new ETF products in the first quarter of this year, including K Defense and bond ETFs. The total net asset value has also shown visible growth, increasing by about 53% compared to the end of last year to 2.2 trillion KRW.

In the second quarter, the company plans to continue proactive efforts to create value for investors by launching differentiated products and providing investment solutions. In May, it is preparing to launch various products such as the ‘US Dollar SOFR ETF,’ which invests in the US risk-free benchmark interest rate, and a solar power ETF, recognized as a representative renewable energy source.