KoAct Korea Value Up Active, Positive Returns After Listing

The Value-Up ETF, which was listed on the 4th of last month, has recorded a positive (+) return since its listing. This result outperformed both the KOSPI 200 index and the Korea Value-Up Index.

Samsung Active Asset Management announced on the 18th that the KoAct Korea Value-Up Active ETF recorded a return of 0.1% since its listing, turning positive (+). During the same period, the Korea Value-Up Index and KOSPI 200 fell by -1.65% and -3.63%, respectively. It was the only one among the 12 Value-Up ETFs to record a positive (+) return. The KODEX Korea Value-Up ETF followed with -1.61%.

KoAct Korea Value-Up Active also posted the highest performance among Value-Up ETFs in the past week with a return of 3.67%, exceeding the Korea Value-Up Index and KOSPI 200 by 2.21 percentage points (P) and 2.28 P, respectively.

KoAct Korea Value-Up Active uses the Korea Value-Up Index as a benchmark and carefully selects investments in outstanding companies within the Value-Up Index, companies expected to be included in the Value-Up Index, and companies related to shareholder activism.

In fact, KoAct Korea Value-Up Active predicted the inclusion of KB Financial, Hana Financial Group, and KT among the five companies newly added to the index through recent rebalancing by the Korea Exchange, and preemptively included them in its portfolio, thereby increasing its operating returns. It also invested in Naver, which was considered a potential inclusion candidate for the benchmark index, achieving a 25.5% return.

By actively utilizing the advantages of an active ETF, it adjusted its investment targets and weights according to market conditions, generating excess returns compared to the benchmark index.

At the beginning of this month, it reduced the weighting of financial stocks to prepare for a temporary decline due to increased domestic political uncertainty. In mid-month, considering expectations for China’s stimulus measures, it newly included Hyosung TNC and BH, achieving returns exceeding 10%. Regarding Korea Zinc, which is included in the benchmark index, it did not include it due to a sharp short-term price increase caused by major shareholder issues, significantly reducing return volatility.

The return turnaround of KoAct Korea Value-Up Active is a clear example of the advantage of active ETFs, which can actively adjust investment targets, compared to passive ETFs that must closely track the benchmark index. It is expected to play a positive role in putting the Value-Up program on a full track in the domestic stock market and attracting investors’ interest.

Samsung Active Asset Management plans to continue to discover and invest early in companies that are increasing profits while actively sharing profits with shareholders through share buybacks and cancellations or dividends, or are concretely preparing shareholder value enhancement activities, even if they are not included in the Value-Up Index, thereby sustaining performance exceeding the benchmark index.

As of the 17th, KoAct Korea Value-Up Active’s portfolio consists of a total of 43 companies, including 36 companies included in the Korea Value-Up Index, three newly included companies on the 20th?KB Financial, Hana Financial Group, and KT?and four non-included companies such as Naver, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Gamseong Corporation, and T’way Air.

Nam Eun-young, head of the Operation Team 1 at Samsung Active Asset Management, said, “The domestic stock market is facing difficulties due to various domestic and international factors. Companies included in the Korea Value-Up Index are expected to show positive long-term stock price trends and expanded dividend payout ratios as they lead shareholder value enhancement along with excellent performance.”

She added, “KoAct Korea Value-Up Active will actively invest by carefully selecting not only companies within the benchmark index but also companies expected to be included in the future, striving to consistently provide better performance to investors.”