Domestic ETF Experts "Focus on AI, Bio, and Space"

YouTube Presents 'ETF Jjikmeok Season 3'
ETF Head Shares Direct Investment Ideas

Kim Dohyung, Head of ETF Consulting Division at Samsung Asset Management, appeared in Samsung Securities' YouTube content series 'ETFjjikmeok'. Photo by Samsung Securities

Experts on Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) from major domestic asset management companies have identified the 'Artificial Intelligence (AI)' theme as a promising theme for 2024. The bio-healthcare and aerospace sectors were also suggested as promising industries. There is also a view that shareholder value return driven by policy momentum will be a major topic in the domestic stock market this year. However, given the increased uncertainty around U.S. interest rates, it was noted that investors should prepare for risks by evenly allocating between risk and safe assets.

Samsung Securities announced on the 28th that it has released the third series of 'ETF Jjikmeok,' one of the flagship contents of its YouTube channel 'Samsung Securities POP.' ETF Jjikmeok Season 3 is part of the ETF Jjikmeok series that gained popularity last year through Samsung Securities' YouTube channel.

Since February, a total of 11 episodes of ETF Jjikmeok Season 3 have been released, featuring head-level personnel from leading domestic asset management companies. The series introduces promising investment themes for this year as well as ETF investment strategies. Since the last content was uploaded on March 19, it has recorded a total of 370,000 views as of March 27.

Experts commonly focused on the growth momentum of the AI theme. Kim Do-hyung, head of Samsung Asset Management (KODEX), presented 'D.R.A.G.O.N' to mark the Year of the Blue Dragon in 2024. This includes ETFs that pay monthly dividends, ETFs for advanced countries and domestic REITs, ETFs related to AI semiconductor specialized technology and the robotics industry growth, short-term interest rate and maturity redemption ETFs for securing safety margins, U.S. technology and small-to-mid cap ETFs expected to deliver earnings surprises, and ETFs related to India’s rise and de-China semiconductor supply chain restructuring. Seo Beom-jin, manager at Samsung Active Asset Management (KoAct), suggested active ETFs that selectively invest in AI service companies and active ETFs that can enjoy growth momentum in the bio-healthcare industry, such as obesity and dementia treatments, as promising investment ideas. However, he also pointed out risk factors investors should watch this year, including the U.S. presidential election outcome, ongoing geopolitical risks, and uncertainty about the timing of interest rate cuts.

Ko Tae-hoon, head of Asset Plus Asset Management (Asset Plus), said, "We must not miss the redefinition of China's top companies that have reached historically undervalued levels," while Cho Sang-jun, deputy head of Timefolio, emphasized, "We should not miss the expansion of VR/AR services and growth in the space-related industry." Kim Jun-ho, deputy head of Korea Investment Trust Management (ACE), predicted that shareholder value return as a policy momentum will be a major theme in the domestic stock market this year. Lim Jong-wook, team leader at Mirae Asset Management (TIGER), suggested including monthly dividend ETFs and parking-type interest rate ETFs in portfolios amid uncertainty and volatility.

Jung Sung-in, deputy head of Kiwoom Investment Asset Management (KOSEF), advised, "Adjust the balance between quick short-term investments and long-term safe asset proportions appropriately," and Kim Hyun-bin, head of NH-Amundi (HANARO), recommended investing in stable assets such as bonds and gold (gold mining companies). Cheon Ki-hoon, team leader at Shinhan Asset Management (SOL), emphasized "building a stable investment portfolio with income assets generated from various assets such as stocks and bonds," while Choi Hong-seok, director at Woori Asset Management (WOORI), said, "Pay attention to competitive REIT-related ETFs that include domestic core real estate assets and aerospace industry ETFs."

From January 2024 to March 14, the net purchase volume of ETFs traded through Samsung Securities was recorded at 820 billion KRW. The ETF with the largest net purchase amount this year was 'KODEX CD Interest Rate Active (Synthetic),' which recorded 121.3 billion KRW. It is analyzed that higher returns than traditional bank parking products, lower transaction costs, and ease of trading were key factors. Next, 'ISHARES 20+ US TR BD JPY HED' posted 68.7 billion KRW. The undervaluation of the yen and the view that U.S. bond yields are at the upper end were considered effective factors.

According to an analysis by Samsung Securities of ETF trading by customer age group, customers in their 40s increased their ETF investments the most, with net purchases exceeding 160 billion KRW last year and this year. Next were customers in their 20s, who net purchased more than 40 billion KRW this year.