Samsung Asset, Samsung Global ChatAI Overseas Stock Fund Achieves 'Excellent' 1-Year Return

The investment phase in artificial intelligence (AI) is shifting from hardware-centric to software-centric. A product that focuses intensively on global AI software recorded the highest return.

Samsung Asset Management announced that the ‘Samsung Global ChatAI’ fund, both the unhedged (UH) and hedged (H) versions, ranked first and second respectively in one-year returns among 811 overseas equity funds.

The Samsung Global ChatAI fund, launched in May last year, is the first domestic fund to focus on software companies and value chains utilizing generative AI (Chat AI).

It has been evaluated as differentiated from existing AI funds, which have a high proportion of investments in hardware companies, because it focuses intensively on software companies using Chat AI. It attracted attention for being able to selectively invest in Chat AI service companies, moving away from the typical investment in mega big tech companies like the ‘Magnificent 7’.

The portfolio mainly includes next-generation AI core companies boasting high profitability and unique technology, such as Microsoft, the parent company of OpenAI, which is well known among software companies showcasing generative AI technology, as well as Adobe, Salesforce, Palantir, AppLovin, ServiceNow, and Manhattan Associates.

Among the core investment stocks in the fund, the stock prices of Meta, Palantir, and AppLovin rose by 89.1%, 166.5%, and 322.9% respectively over the past year, proving the investment value in generative AI software companies.

With differentiated investment, the Samsung Global ChatAI unhedged (UH) fund recorded a one-year return of 71.3% and a year-to-date return of 56.3%, ranking first among 811 global equity funds. The hedged (H) version also ranked second with a one-year return of 64.6%.

Since the public release of OpenAI’s conversational AI service ChatGPT, the generative AI service sector has rapidly reached the popularization stage. The dominant forecast is that the current $130 billion market will grow tenfold to $1.3 trillion after 2032. In particular, the implementation of AI technology in creative fields such as writing, art, and research is expected to combine diversely with the existing software industry, bringing significant innovation to corporate productivity. Due to this innovation, the market potential and investment opportunities for generative AI are expected to increase rapidly.

Jang Hyun-jun, a manager at Samsung Asset Management, said, "Interest in the next-generation AI industry is shifting from hardware investments, including semiconductors, to software fields where AI can actually be used, so I believe the full-scale expansion of the Chat AI service industry starts now." He added, "We will continue to carefully select core beneficiary companies centered on software companies leading the next-generation AI market and build a differentiated portfolio to consistently achieve higher returns."

Compared to most overseas investment ETFs, which are mostly unhedged, the Samsung Global ChatAI fund is a public offering fund with both unhedged (UH) and hedged (H) versions, providing the advantage of choosing investments according to future exchange rate trends.