[Exclusive] Pension Funds Pouring into US Nasdaq and Tech Stock ETFs... Returns Up to 76%

[Retirement Pension Paradigm Shift] ① Analysis of Top 10% Portfolio Returns in Samsung Securities IRP Accounts
Average Return 27%... Top 10% Who Transferred from Other Sectors Average Return 15.2%

The mandatory implementation of the Retirement Pension Pre-Designated Operation System (Default Option) has officially begun on the 12th after a one-year grace period, causing the related market, worth 340 trillion won, to stir. A money-move phenomenon is also occurring, with accounts being transferred from banks and insurance companies to securities firms in pursuit of higher returns. Ultimately, the incentive to move large sums of money is the rate of return. While the average return on retirement pensions remains in the 2% range, the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Financial Supervisory Service disclose quarterly returns by operator to revitalize the retirement pension market and promote market competition. Samsung Securities attracted investors' attention by recording the highest returns for two consecutive quarters this year.

Asia Economy compiled and analyzed the individual retirement pension (IRP) account returns of Samsung Securities. As of June 30, Samsung Securities had a total of 98,120 IRP accounts with a balance of 3.8502 trillion won, and the average return of the top 10% of customers was 26.8%. The highest return among customers reached 76.2%.

Excluding cash assets, the product most held in the IRP accounts of the top 10% return customers was TIGER US Nasdaq 100, with a subscription amount of 26.5 billion won. Next were TIGER US Tech TOP10 INDXX and KODEX US FANG Plus (H), with subscription amounts of 11.7 billion won and 10 billion won, respectively. Following these were KODEX US Nasdaq 100 TR, KODEX TRF3070, KODEX Secondary Battery Industry, TIGER US Philadelphia Semiconductor Nasdaq, TIGER Secondary Battery Theme, TIGER US S&P 500, KODEX Semiconductor, KODEX US S&P 500 TR, ACE US Nasdaq 100, Korea Securities Finance Retirement Pension Fixed Deposit DC/IRP (1 year), and TIGER China Electric Vehicle SOLACTIVE, in that order.

The notable feature is that, except for ETFs related to the promising long-term growth sectors of secondary batteries and semiconductors, most products track US indices. Customers with the highest retirement pension returns opened their wallets for ETFs that track the Nasdaq and Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 and gather promising US tech stocks.

Average Return of IRP Accounts Transferred to Samsung Securities is 2.46%, Top 10% Achieve 15%

As of June 30 this year, the aggregated and analyzed returns of customers who transferred their IRP accounts from other sectors such as banks and insurance companies to Samsung Securities also showed favorable results. The total number of IRP accounts transferred to Samsung Securities was 2,232, with a balance amounting to 108.2 billion won. Their overall average return stood at 2.46% as of June 30. This is because they still managed their funds conservatively, with two fixed deposits among their top purchased products. Nevertheless, this is higher than the returns from banks or insurance sectors. If the funds had remained in principal-guaranteed products of banks or insurance companies, the return would have been estimated at only 1%.

The average return of the top 10% of customers by return among those who transferred accounts reached 15.2%. This is interpreted as the result of selecting aggressive investment products in addition to fixed deposits. Samsung Securities expects their returns to increase further. Although funds are currently concentrated in fixed deposits due to low understanding of the default option, it is anticipated that the range of product management will expand as understanding improves.

Among customers who transferred accounts to Samsung Securities, the top 10 most held products by the top 10% in returns, excluding cash assets, were KODEX Secondary Battery Industry, KODEX US S&P 500 TR, KODEX US Nasdaq 100 TR, TIGER US Nasdaq 100, TIGER US S&P 500, SOL Secondary Battery Materials Fn, Samsung Vietnam Securities Equity Investment Trust UH (Stock)-Cpe, Korea Securities Finance Retirement Pension Fixed Deposit DC/IRP (3 years), Korea Securities Finance Retirement Pension Fixed Deposit DC/IRP (1 year), and Korea Investment Pension Vietnam Growth Securities (Stock) C-Re. Two secondary battery products were included. It is also notable that funds were concentrated in ETFs that mainly track US indices and invest in 100 excellent Nasdaq companies.

Samsung Securities plans to continuously improve the quality of its retirement pension services. A Samsung Securities official explained, "We developed the industry's first 3-minute pension subscription system using mobile, establishing a system that allows anyone to easily subscribe to a retirement pension," adding, "From subscription to providing recommended portfolios, it can be completed in a one-stop process, and the Samsung Securities Portfolio Strategy Team recommends portfolios tailored to customer preferences using carefully selected products based on past performance and operator stability."