[Practical Finance] New Year's Money Investment Trends... "Sending Overseas Stocks as Gifts via KakaoTalk"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] This year, the investment trends for New Year's money have diversified. Investments have expanded not only to domestic blue-chip stocks including Samsung Electronics but also to leading global companies such as Tesla and Apple. Children's funds, considered traditional holiday funds, have also achieved higher returns than the KOSPI, providing more options to choose from.

The MZ generation receiving New Year's money is showing strong interest in overseas stocks. Although blue-chip overseas stocks can cost several million won per share, the introduction of fractional share trading allows investors to buy partial shares even if they cannot afford a whole share, enabling them to pursue higher returns. Korea Investment & Securities, which first introduced the fractional share trading system (Mini Stock service) for overseas stocks, surpassed 300,000 subscribers by the end of last year, with transaction amounts exceeding 100 billion won. Among the subscribers, those in their 20s account for the highest proportion, exceeding 40%.

The top net purchase stocks include Tesla, Apple, Google, Nvidia, and Amazon. Among these, Tesla, an electric vehicle manufacturer, has been the most net-purchased stock by domestic overseas investors for two consecutive years, including last year. The net purchase amount last year was approximately 28.8975 trillion won. Tesla's stock price surpassed $1,000 per share in October last year and rose more than 55% over the past year.

Products catering to parents who want to satisfy their children's interests have also been introduced. These products allow gifting overseas stocks instead of New Year's money. Shinhan Financial Investment sells the ‘Overseas Stock Gift Certificate’ (StockCon), which enables trading major U.S. stocks in small amounts. KakaoTalk users can gift overseas stocks through the gifting platform even without a Shinhan Financial Investment account.

Among domestic stocks, Samsung Electronics, the perennial leader, is gaining attention as a stock that parents invest in for their children's New Year's money during the holidays. Last year, Samsung Electronics' stock price, which once dreamed of reaching ‘100,000 won per share,’ has recently recovered to the 80,000 won range due to a downturn in the semiconductor market. However, expectations for a semiconductor market turnaround are high this year. Domestic stocks like Samsung Electronics can also be gifted. Hana Financial Investment offers a stock gifting service through the ‘Hana One Q Stock’ app. With just a phone number, one can send domestic stocks or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) up to 1 million won per transaction. The recipient does not need to be a Hana Financial Investment customer to receive the gift.

The traditional holiday product, the ‘Children’s Fund,’ is also worth considering for New Year's money investment. According to Zeroin, the average return of 22 children’s funds launched domestically over the past year was 7.95%. This significantly exceeds last year’s KOSPI return of 3.63%. Although the average return may seem somewhat low, some funds have achieved remarkable returns individually, such as the Korea Value 10-Year Investment Children’s Securities Investment Trust (38.82%) and KB Apple Tree Securities Investment Trust (18.01%). Among the 22 funds, only about one recorded a negative return.

A financial investment industry official explained, “Children’s funds can be a good choice, but recently we have been recommending target-date funds (TDFs) alongside children’s funds,” adding, “These products are recommended because they can achieve certain returns by the time the child reaches adulthood while also offering tax deduction benefits.”