Number of Seohak Ants Rises... Foreign Securities Holdings Up 35.9% Year-on-Year Last Year

"Seohak Ants" Bought the Most Tesla Shares Last Year
US Tech Stocks Dominate Top Holdings Among Korean Overseas Investors

Last year, as overseas stock markets showed strong performance, the amount of foreign securities held by domestic investors increased by approximately 36% compared to 2022. This was attributed to the strength of the US stock market and the weak Japanese yen, which led to a rise in the number of "Seohak Ants"-Korean individual investors investing in overseas stocks. In addition, the most purchased stock by Seohak Ants last year was Tesla, the American electric vehicle company.

According to the Korea Securities Depository on January 18, as of the end of last year, the amount of foreign securities held by domestic investors stood at $104.19 billion (approximately 139 trillion KRW), marking a 35.9% increase compared to the previous year ($76.69 billion). This is the highest figure since 2019. The settlement amount reached $382.65 billion, a 1.9% increase from the previous year ($377.53 billion).

Regarding the amount of foreign securities held, foreign stocks accounted for $76.85 billion, a 38.8% increase from the end of 2022 ($55.36 billion), while foreign bonds rose by 28.2% to $27.34 billion during the same period.

By market, the amount of US securities held-including both stocks and bonds-was $72.31 billion, accounting for 69.4% of the total. The top five markets-United States, Eurozone, Japan, Hong Kong, and China-together accounted for 97.9% of the total.

For foreign stocks, the US made up about 88.5% of the total, which represents a 53.8% increase compared to 2022.

US technology stocks dominated the top investment holdings. Tesla ranked first in terms of amount held at $13.6 billion, followed by Apple ($5 billion), Nvidia ($4.3 billion), and Microsoft ($2.9 billion).

The settlement amount for foreign securities by domestic investors was $382.65 billion, a 1.9% increase compared to 2022 ($375.53 billion).

Foreign stocks accounted for $287.98 billion, a 3.9% decrease from the previous year ($299.55 billion), while foreign bonds amounted to $94.67 billion, a 24.6% increase from the previous year ($75.98 billion).

By market, the US accounted for the largest share of total foreign securities settlement at 75.6% ($289.45 billion), and the top five markets, including the US, made up 99.6% of the total settlement amount.

For foreign stocks, the US recorded a settlement amount of $273.21 billion, representing 94.9% of the total, which is a 3.7% decrease from the previous year ($283.61 billion).

The top stocks by foreign stock settlement amount were also all US stocks, including Tesla and various Direxion Daily ETFs, with all of the top ten being American stocks.