Samsung Asset Management's KODEX US Nasdaq 100 TR ETF Surpasses 1 Trillion KRW in Net Assets

Samsung Asset Management announced on the 17th that the net assets of the KODEX US Nasdaq 100 TR ETF, which invests in the US Nasdaq 100, have surpassed 1 trillion KRW. As of the closing price on the 14th, the net assets of this product stood at 1.0351 trillion KRW, marking an increase of 444.9 billion KRW or more than 75% compared to 590.2 billion KRW at the end of last year. The cumulative net purchases by individual investors this year have also reached 152 billion KRW.

KODEX US Nasdaq 100 TR is an ETF that tracks the Nasdaq 100 index, known as a representative US technology stock index, investing in major US big tech companies such as Microsoft, Apple, and Nvidia. Due to the strong performance of AI-related stocks this year, the Nasdaq 100 rose by 16.35%, and with the added effect of exchange rate appreciation, KODEX US Nasdaq 100 TR has recorded a high return of 24.3%.

In particular, unlike other products tracking the Nasdaq 100 index, this product operates on a Total Return (TR) basis, where dividends generated from the included assets are not paid out to investors but automatically reinvested into the fund. This approach increases participation in the underlying index over the long term, allowing for higher returns when stock prices rise. In fact, KODEX US Nasdaq 100 TR has achieved the highest performance among similar passive products with returns of 24.34% year-to-date, 42.34% over one year, and 74.90% over three years.

Considering that when investors reinvest dividends themselves in a regular account, dividend income tax is withheld at source, and transaction fees and actual execution costs due to bid-ask spreads also occur, automatic reinvestment within the fund is inevitably advantageous for long-term returns. This is why TR products are regarded as most suitable for long-term installment investment products.

To promote the advantages of these TR products and encourage long-term installment investments by individual investors, Samsung Asset Management lowered the total expense ratio of KODEX US Nasdaq 100 TR and KODEX US S&P 500 TR, the only domestic exchange rate-exposed US representative index TR products, to 0.0099% in April. This also reflects the judgment that US representative index products are suitable as mid- to long-term investment products for individual investors.

Thanks to these efforts, the cumulative net purchases by individual investors in KODEX US Nasdaq 100 TR this year have reached 152 billion KRW, and notably, recent inflows from individual investors have more than doubled, accelerating the growth rate of net assets. The average daily net purchase by individuals, which was around 950 million KRW until mid-April this year, increased by about 130% to 2.2 billion KRW over the two months following mid-April. This stands out especially since most similar products showed little change during the same comparison period.

Moreover, considering the scale of net asset growth and investment returns of this product, it is estimated that investments in KODEX US Nasdaq 100 TR have significantly increased in retirement pension (DC/IRP) accounts, which are very favorable for individual investors to invest in mid- to long-term installment plans. This raises attention to whether the relative preference of individual investors for such TR products will continue.

Kim Dohyung, Head of ETF Consulting at Samsung Asset Management, said, “For investors considering mid- to long-term investment using the Nasdaq 100, the foundation of US investment, KODEX US Nasdaq 100 TR, which offers automatic dividend reinvestment to increase index participation and has the lowest total expense ratio, will be a good investment tool.” He added, “Using pension savings, retirement pensions, and ISAs for installment long-term investment can yield better results, so I recommend KODEX US Nasdaq 100 TR as the first pension financial product for young investors.”