PLUS Gold Bond Hybrid ETF Newly Listed

Hanwha Asset Management announced on December 16 that it will newly list the 'PLUS Gold Bond Hybrid' Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), which invests equally in gold and bonds.

The PLUS Gold Bond Hybrid ETF is a bond-mixed ETF that allocates 50% to gold and 50% to 3-year government bonds. According to retirement pension regulations, it is classified as a safe asset. It can be invested up to 100% without any limit in retirement pension (DC/IRP) accounts. As of the listing date, it is the only gold ETF listed domestically that allows this. The gold price tracks international standards.

By investing the mandatory safe asset allocation (30%) of a retirement pension account in the PLUS Gold Bond Hybrid ETF, investors can expect to diversify their portfolio asset classes, thereby dispersing risk and reducing volatility. For example, if the 70% risk asset limit is invested in the PLUS US S&P500 ETF and the remainder in the PLUS Gold Bond Hybrid ETF, assets are allocated 70% to stocks, 15% to gold, and 15% to bonds, respectively.

In fact, combining assets with low correlation is more effective for risk management compared to investing in a single asset. According to Hanwha Asset Management's backtesting, from December 31, 1999 to November 28, 2025, investing 60% in S&P500 (stocks), 20% in bonds, and 20% in gold resulted in volatility of 9.8%, lower than investing in S&P500 alone (15.2%). The Sharpe ratio, an investment performance indicator that shows the excess return per unit of risk, was 0.83, higher than S&P500 alone (0.53), indicating better performance relative to risk taken.

Gold has long been recognized as a safe asset for hedging against inflation. This year, the price of gold surpassed $4,000 per troy ounce (1ozt = 31.10g) for the first time ever. When currency values decline during an interest rate cut phase, the preference for gold increases.

Although supply is limited, demand from central banks around the world continues to rise. According to a report by the European Central Bank (ECB), the share of gold in global central banks' reserve assets reached 19% at the end of 2023, up from 16.5%. This is the second highest after the US dollar (46%), surpassing the euro (16%).

Kim Jeongseop, Head of ETF Business Division at Hanwha Asset Management, said, "The PLUS Gold Bond Hybrid ETF is the only domestic gold ETF that can be allocated to the 30% mandatory safe asset portion in retirement pension accounts," and suggested that it can be used in various ways for asset allocation purposes.

He added, "Since retirement pension investment should be approached from a long-term perspective, stability is important. The PLUS Gold Bond Hybrid ETF tracks global international gold prices, so investors can invest stably without worrying about the so-called 'kimchi premium,' a gap between domestic and international gold prices."