Samsung Asset Management's 'KODEX 2nd Battery Industry Leverage' Surpasses 200 Billion KRW in Net Assets

Samsung Asset Management announced on the 21st that the net assets of KODEX 2nd Battery Industry Leverage have exceeded 200 billion KRW.

As of the 20th, KODEX 2nd Battery Industry Leverage recorded net assets of 206.4 billion KRW, making it the largest sector leverage exchange-traded fund (ETF) and the third largest among all 46 leverage ETFs, following KODEX Leverage and KODEX KOSDAQ150 Leverage.

This increase in net assets is mainly attributed to the concentrated interest of investors, with more than 57% (30.4 billion KRW) of the 53.2 billion KRW net purchase amount of secondary battery ETFs by individual investors this year flowing into KODEX 2nd Battery Industry Leverage. The cumulative net purchase amount by individual investors has reached 124.3 billion KRW.

The reason individual investors have focused their investments on KODEX 2nd Battery Industry Leverage appears to be growing expectations that domestic secondary battery stocks have bottomed out. Despite concerns reflected in the market about the weakening position of Korean battery companies due to the expansion of the Chinese LFP battery market, a recent credit rating agency upgraded the credit ratings of EcoPro BM and EcoPro, considering their strong earnings growth and stable business foundations.

In the case of EcoPro, strong buying momentum from investors was triggered after the company announced a stock split, dividing one share into five. Additionally, positive market developments such as long-term contract agreements between major cathode material companies like LG Chem and POSCO Future M further heightened expectations for the secondary battery industry's recovery from the bottom.

In fact, driven by these expectations, KODEX 2nd Battery Industry Leverage recorded the highest return among all ETFs in February, with a return of 24.97%.

KODEX 2nd Battery Industry Leverage is a leverage ETF that tracks the FnGuide secondary battery industry index at twice the rate. It diversifies investments evenly across the entire secondary battery industry value chain, including battery cells, materials, equipment, and components. It holds 25 representative stocks such as ▲LG Energy Solution, ▲LG Chem, ▲Cosmo Advanced Materials, ▲POSCO Holdings, ▲EcoPro BM, and ▲EcoPro.

Park Sung-chul, head of ETF Management Team 1 at Samsung Asset Management, said, “For investors expecting the secondary battery industry to break out from the bottom, KODEX 2nd Battery Industry Leverage ETF, which tracks twice the daily return of the secondary battery index, can offer a more elastic effect during strong market trends like these.” He added, “This ETF can be a good investment tool for smart investors who have confidence in the secondary battery industry as well as those looking to recover losses incurred from secondary battery investments last year.”