The Best-Performing ETF of the Year

Among the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed on the domestic stock market, the PLUS K-Defense ETF has recorded the highest return so far this year.

According to ETF Check on October 4, the PLUS K-Defense ETF has surged by 204.97% since the beginning of the year. This is 16.89 percentage points higher than the return of 188.08% posted by the TIGER K-Defense & Space ETF, which ranked second.

Hanwha Asset Management listed the PLUS K-Defense ETF, the nation’s first financial product related to K-Defense, in January 2023. Its total net assets have grown to 1.2745 trillion won.

The main investment stocks of the PLUS K-Defense ETF include Hanwha Ocean, Hyundai Rotem, Hanwha Aerospace, Korea Aerospace Industries, LIG Nex1, and Hanwha Systems. Among these, the combined operating profit of four K-Defense companies-Hanwha Systems, LIG Nex1, Hyundai Rotem, and others-in the first half of this year reached 2.2087 trillion won, up 194.2% from the same period last year. Their order backlog has also surpassed 100 trillion won, standing out in the global market.

Kim Yongcheol, a manager at Hanwha Asset Management, explained, “As conflicts and disputes continue across the globe, we have entered a ‘new Cold War era.’ The global trend of increasing defense budgets is now in full swing.”

He added, “Since 2020, K-Defense export orders have exceeded 100 trillion won. By expanding export pipelines to regions such as Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North America, K-Defense will accelerate performance-based growth.” He emphasized, “This will lead to profit growth that outpaces stock price gains, ultimately driving a revaluation of corporate value.”

On October 1, Hanwha Asset Management listed the ‘PLUS K-Defense Leverage’ ETF. The PLUS K-Defense Leverage ETF is a leveraged ETF that tracks twice the performance of the PLUS K-Defense ETF. Starting with the PLUS K-Defense ETF, the company has completed a K-Defense investment universe that includes the PLUS K-Defense Materials & Components ETF and the Hanwha K-Defense Shipbuilding & Nuclear Power Fund, covering everything from the defense value chain to leveraged investment.