ACE KRX Gold Spot ETF Surpasses 300 Billion KRW in Net Purchases by Individuals Since Start of Year

Korea Investment Management announced on July 9 that the cumulative net purchases by individual investors in the ACE KRX Gold Spot Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) have surpassed 300 billion KRW since the beginning of the year.

According to the Korea Exchange, the net purchases by individual investors in the ACE KRX Gold Spot ETF have reached 300.1 billion KRW so far this year. This ranks eighth among the 991 domestic ETFs listed during the same period.

The ACE KRX Gold Spot ETF, launched by Korea Investment Management in December 2021, tracks the 'KRX Gold Spot Index' calculated and published by the Korea Exchange. Due to its gold spot structure, it is eligible for investment through retirement pension accounts, making it a useful tool for portfolio diversification beyond stocks and bonds.

Since the beginning of the year, the ACE KRX Gold Spot ETF has recorded a return of 13.88%, outperforming major U.S. stock indices. During the same period, the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index and the Nasdaq 100 Index rose by only 5.85% and 8.04%, respectively.

The one-year and three-year returns are the highest among the 29 domestic commodity ETFs. The ACE KRX Gold Spot ETF posted one-year and three-year returns of 36.92% and 95.79%, respectively (excluding leveraged products). During the same period, the only domestic commodity ETF with higher returns than the ACE KRX Gold Spot ETF was the ACE Gold Futures Leverage (Synthetic H) ETF, with returns of 65.79% and 131.94%, respectively.

Consistent inflows combined with strong performance have driven an increase in net asset value. The ACE KRX Gold Spot ETF surpassed 700 billion KRW in net assets on January 23 and reached 1 trillion KRW just 11 trading days later. Its current net asset value stands at 1.2924 trillion KRW, making it not only the largest gold ETF listed domestically but also the largest among all commodity ETFs in Korea.

Nam Yongsoo, Head of ETF Management at Korea Investment Management, stated, "With market volatility rising since the beginning of the year, funds have continued to flow into the ACE KRX Gold Spot ETF, which invests in gold spot assets that have a low correlation with stocks." He added, "Including a certain portion of the ACE KRX Gold Spot ETF in a portfolio is a good strategy for reducing portfolio volatility."

The ACE KRX Gold Spot ETF is a performance-based product, and past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should also be aware that there is a risk of principal loss depending on management results.