KODEX High Dividend Stocks Achieves 250 Billion Won in Net Assets After Portfolio Overhaul

'KODEX High Dividend Stocks', the flagship high-dividend ETF managed by Samsung Asset Management, has been experiencing rapid growth since its complete overhaul of the index methodology.

Samsung Asset Management announced on the 17th that the net asset value of KODEX High Dividend Stocks has increased by 292% from 66.7 billion won before the overhaul to 261.7 billion won. The company analyzed that investors seeking ETFs that provide regular dividend payments are flocking to the product.

On June 18, Samsung Asset Management completely revamped the portfolio of KODEX High Dividend Stocks. The selection method shifted from focusing on high-dividend small and mid-cap stocks to emphasizing large-cap blue-chip high-dividend stocks. This change was made to achieve differentiated performance in the domestic high-dividend ETF market, which has recently attracted significant investor interest.

KODEX High Dividend Stocks rebalanced its assets to include a relatively higher proportion of economically sensitive stocks compared to other high-dividend ETFs, creating a structure that allows for greater upside potential during stock market uptrends.

The high returns achieved after the portfolio overhaul also played a key role in the increase in net assets. Over the past month, the cumulative return was 13.56%, surpassing the 10.08% rise of the KOSPI during the same period. Instead of concentrating on financial stocks as before, the ETF focused on leading high-dividend stocks across various sectors. It proactively invested in stocks with high expected dividend yields for the next fiscal year. When applying the expected dividend yield, the dividend yield?one of the most closely watched factors by dividend investors?was raised from the previous 5% to 6%.

Major holdings such as DB Insurance, Hyundai Elevator, and Cheil Worldwide showed solid share price growth, supported by the government’s shareholder return policies, easing market uncertainties, expectations for a recovery in domestic demand, and improved business conditions in the second half of the year. In addition to these major stocks, most of the portfolio consists of companies with strong market dominance in the domestic market, which significantly contributed to the performance of KODEX High Dividend Stocks despite external uncertainties.

Recently, as the issue of reciprocal tariffs with the United States has resurfaced, investors are shifting their focus from export-oriented companies to those with strong market dominance in the domestic market. Furthermore, if the domestic economy enters a recovery phase in the second half of the year due to the government's supplementary budget, the performance of these companies is expected to improve even further.

Ma Seunghyun, a manager at Samsung Asset Management, stated, "KODEX High Dividend Stocks has been reborn as a high-dividend ETF that concentrates investments in companies with high expected dividend yields and those that pay larger dividends, focusing on companies with strong market dominance and robust business models in the domestic market."

He added, "Even as external uncertainties intensify, by including companies with excellent and stable business models, this ETF can be an optimal choice for investors seeking both dividends and growth potential."