Samsung Asset Management "KODEX US Nasdaq 100 Daily Covered Call OTM Individual Investors Bought 50 Billion Won"

Samsung Asset Management announced on the 16th that the KODEX US Nasdaq100 Daily Covered Call OTM ETF has surpassed 50 billion KRW in net purchases by individuals. Since its listing on October 22 this year, it has recorded net assets of 110.4 billion KRW in about 40 trading days.

The KODEX US Nasdaq100 Daily Covered Call OTM invests in the US Nasdaq100 index while simultaneously employing a 100% covered call strategy using out-of-the-money (OTM) daily call option sales. This product aims to achieve up to approximately 1% daily capital gains along with high premium income. Developed through long-term collaboration between Samsung Asset Management and Nasdaq, it is the first domestic exchange-traded fund (ETF) to execute daily physical option trading without time lag.

The index tracked by the KODEX US Nasdaq100 Daily Covered Call OTM, called ‘Nasdaq100 Daily Covered Call 101,’ has an average premium income of about 23% annually over the past five years. Since the call option strike price, which gives the counterparty the right to buy the underlying asset, is set at approximately +1% of the Nasdaq100 index on the day (OTM), if the Nasdaq100 index rises less than the strike rate, all such capital gains are reflected in the ETF. Therefore, investors can simultaneously earn daily capital gains of around 1% and option premiums.

This ETF is a monthly dividend product, paying distributions every month. With the option selling ratio set at 100%, the option premium level varies monthly, so the maximum distribution rate is capped at 20% annually (1.67% monthly). Premiums exceeding this cap are reinvested to pursue compound growth. Last month’s distribution rate, including income accrued since the fund’s inception on October 16, reached a total of 2.45%.

Meanwhile, the option trading of the KODEX US Nasdaq100 Daily Covered Call OTM applies the country’s first ‘time-lag-free daily covered call strategy’ by utilizing Samsung Asset Management’s New York local office to conduct same-day physical option trading in the US. Previously, domestic ETFs using US option trading faced restrictions on real-time trading due to time differences with the US market, calculating strike prices based on the previous day’s underlying index and executing call option sales the next day or using synthetic management methods. However, this product calculates strike prices based on the same-day underlying index locally in the US and conducts physical option trading, thereby improving trading accuracy and reducing management costs.

Im Taehyuk, Executive Director of ETF Management at Samsung Asset Management, said, “The KODEX US Nasdaq100 Daily Covered Call OTM is a useful product for investors who expect the US stock market to show a more moderate upward trend, such as a speed adjustment, in the near term. This product, which participates in daily price increases of about 1% in the Nasdaq100 index while pursuing monthly dividends of up to 20% annually, is becoming a new investment alternative for investors.”