ACE Shareholder Return Value Active ETF Surpasses 50 Billion KRW in Net Assets

Korea Investment Management announced on June 4 that the net asset value of the ACE Shareholder Return Value Active Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) has surpassed 50 billion KRW.

The ACE Shareholder Return Value Active ETF, which was listed in November 2022, is an active product whose net asset value increased from 16.7 billion KRW at the end of last year to 50.6 billion KRW in just five months.

The ACE Shareholder Return Value Active ETF selects around 40 stocks, taking into account not only financial factors but also qualitative indicators such as shareholder return growth, corporate competitive advantage, and management capability. Stock selection is overseen by Kim Kibaek, Head of ESG Management at Korea Investment Management. Kim, a leading manager of the 'second generation of value investing', has visited more than 1,300 companies approximately 3,000 times over the past 11 years in his efforts to discover investment opportunities.

Currently, the top holdings include Seah Steel Holdings (9.66%), Youngone Holdings (9.62%), Seah Steel (6.78%), DoubleU Games (6.32%), SK Gas (5.84%), Daou Technology (4.32%), and Cuckoo Holdings (4.14%).

By selecting stocks among high-quality companies with a focus on shareholder return growth, the ETF's distributions have also increased. The ETF has raised its distributions for three consecutive years since listing. In April 2023, the first distribution was 240 KRW per share, but in April this year, the distribution rose to 500 KRW per share.

Strong performance is another advantage. The ACE Shareholder Return Value Active ETF recorded returns of 13.61% over the past six months and 20.78% over the past year. The total return, which includes both price appreciation and distributions, reached 18.14% (six months) and 25.21% (one year).

Kim Kibaek commented, "The domestic stock market is undergoing a transition to 'shareholder capitalism' as social, institutional, and internal corporate changes converge, and such changes will be seen across the entire market, not just in specific sectors." He added, "This is why it is important to invest in companies that can actually expand and institutionalize shareholder returns, rather than simply those with a low price-to-book ratio (PBR)."

Kim further explained, "The ACE Shareholder Return Value Active ETF selects and includes medium-sized and small companies that are best positioned to benefit from the shareholder return growth model and changes in corporate governance. Through this ETF, investors can more easily benefit from the changes in the capital market."

The ACE Shareholder Return Value Active ETF is a performance-based product, and past results do not guarantee future performance. In addition, principal loss may occur depending on the management results.