Korea Investment Tech Fund Tops Year-to-Date Returns Among Tech Funds

The Korea Investment Tech Fund, managed by Korea Investment Management, has recorded the highest year-to-date return among tech funds.

According to Korea Investment Management on March 9, the Korea Investment Tech Fund is a mother-daughter type product first launched in 2005 and is currently operated through two sub-funds (Korea Investment Tech Fund No.1 and Korea Investment Tech Fund No.2). According to FnGuide, as of the previous trading day (March 6), Korea Investment Tech Fund No.2 topped the list for year-to-date returns among tech funds, followed by Korea Investment Tech Fund No.1 in second place.

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Tech funds were classified based on the inclusion of the 'Tech' keyword in the product name, including Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). Currently, there are 114 funds (495 fund classes) set up under this classification.

It is noteworthy that all of the top-performing funds by class were occupied by these funds. Korea Investment Tech Fund No.1 and No.2 each have 7 and 3 fund classes, respectively. Combined, these 10 classes took the top spots from first to tenth for year-to-date returns among the 495 tech fund classes.

Out of 431 classes, the highest return was recorded by the C-W class of Korea Investment Tech Fund No.2 with 53.82%. The S class (53.78%) and C5 class (53.63%) of No.2 followed. From the fourth to tenth places, the seven classes of Korea Investment Tech Fund No.1 ranked (53.33% to 53.48%). The fund posted a 1-year return of 170.19% and a 3-year return of 159.80%. Since inception, the return was 132.77% (based on the No.1 A-e class).

This outstanding performance is attributed to the expertise of the fund manager. Both Korea Investment Tech Fund No.1 and No.2 are managed by Head of Corporate Analysis, Kwak Chan. Kwak, a former IT analyst, has been analyzing the tech sector and managing related funds for 16 years since 2010.

Kwak operates the Korea Investment Tech Fund by combining his 16 years of expertise in tech analysis with four core management strategies: ▲Focused investment (concentrating on high-growth industries within the tech sector), ▲Proactive investment (identifying and increasing allocation in anticipation of a turnaround in the semiconductor industry), ▲Selective investment (including stocks benefiting from structural technological changes), and ▲Seeking alpha (responding to downturns in IT by including sub-sectors and low-beta stocks).

As of February 24, the top holdings in the Korea Investment Tech Fund portfolio included Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Wonik QnC, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Wonik IPS, and Hansol Chemical. Investors can subscribe to the Korea Investment Tech Fund through KB Securities, SK Securities, Daishin Securities, Shinhan Investment, Woori Bank, Yuanta Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, Hanwha Investment & Securities, and Korea Post Securities, among others.

Kwak stated, "The Korea Investment Tech Fund is a product that allows investment not only in core areas such as memory and semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment, but also in sub-sectors that reflect market trends in electronic components and mobile." He added, "To achieve alpha returns, we quickly respond to structural changes within sub-sectors and continue to conduct company visits and research."

He went on to emphasize, "Tech investment requires continuously identifying inflection points in rapidly advancing technologies and uncovering investment opportunities. That is why, when managing the Korea Investment Tech Fund, we analyze not only domestic tech stocks, but also global tech stocks that compete or collaborate with domestic companies."

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