Samsung Asset Management's 'KODEX US Dividend Covered Call Active' Surpasses 100 Billion KRW in Net Assets

Samsung Asset Management announced on the 19th that the net assets of KODEX US Dividend Covered Call Active, which utilizes an active covered call strategy, have surpassed 100 billion KRW. This milestone was achieved approximately 2 years and 2 months after its listing in September 2022. As of the end of last year, the net assets grew by 63.2 billion KRW from 39.1 billion KRW, increasing 2.5 times.

The growth of KODEX US Dividend Covered Call Active is attributed to its ability to maintain a high level of returns consistently, alongside steadily increasing monthly dividends, despite being a monthly dividend covered call exchange-traded fund (ETF). This product recorded a 28.06% return this year, ranking first among domestic monthly dividend covered call ETF products. The dividend yield this year is also steadily increasing from the previous annual level of 6% to the current 7.57%, with expectations to grow to the 8% range in the future.

The high performance of KODEX US Dividend Covered Call Active is possible because, unlike general monthly dividend covered call products, it actively adjusts the covered call ratio using the stocks included in its investment portfolio, thereby pursuing both stock price appreciation and dividend growth simultaneously. This management approach has already been proven effective by JEPI (JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF) and DIVO (Amplify CWP Enhanced Dividend Income ETF), which are well known among overseas Korean investors. Both products invest in high-quality S&P 500 dividend stocks while actively employing covered call strategies on individual stocks, earning recognition as representative monthly dividend covered call products that deliver relatively stable yet high performance.

In particular, DIVO recorded returns of 18.65% this year, 24.23% over one year, and 8.92% annually over three years, outperforming JEPI’s returns of 15.42%, 18.83%, and 8.13% annually over the same periods. KODEX US Dividend Covered Call Active was launched domestically in 2022 by replicating DIVO. It is managed with advice from CWP, a stock options specialist company. Through this, it became the first ETF in the industry to utilize covered calls on individual US stocks. CWP is known locally as the advisory company for the stock option covered calls of the US DIVO ETF, which has grown to about 5 trillion KRW in size and played a significant role in DIVO receiving a 5-star rating from Morningstar.

Ma Seung-hyun, manager at Samsung Asset Management, said, "We consider it very meaningful that the KODEX US Dividend Covered Call Active ETF has achieved good performance and grown to 100 billion KRW in net assets. We will continue to strive to make KODEX US Dividend Covered Call Active a necessary product for pensioners or investors who require steady cash flow by pursuing a balanced approach of an approximately 8% annual monthly dividend rate and stable returns compared to the market."