SAMSUNG Asset Management announced on December 29 that it ranked first in net purchases by individual investors in the domestic ETF market for 2025 (as of the close on the 26th). As a result of being chosen by individual investors, the company also recorded the largest increase in net assets in the industry this year.
The most notable change for KODEX ETFs this year was the surge in net purchases by individual investors. The cumulative net purchases by individuals for KODEX ETFs reached 13.5493 trillion won this year, more than double last year's total of 6.334 trillion won. The market share of net purchases by individuals, which was only 32.1% last year (second in the industry), jumped by 6.8 percentage points to 38.9% this year. Defying the conventional wisdom that KODEX ETFs were strong among institutional investors but weak among individuals, this year KODEX emerged as the ETF most favored by individual investors.
Looking at net purchases by product, seven out of the top ten products were KODEX offerings. Unlike recent years, which were dominated by U.S. stocks, a diverse range of products attracted individual investors this year. KODEX US S&P500 (1.7232 trillion won) and KODEX US Nasdaq100 (1.4903 trillion won), which represent the U.S. stock market, continued to be popular, while KODEX 200 (1.4611 trillion won), a flagship product representing the domestic market and signaling the return of investment funds to Korea, also stood out. KODEX 200 Target Weekly Covered Call (1.3149 trillion won) and KODEX US Dividend Covered Call Active (716 billion won), which met dividend demand while partially defending returns during market downturns, as well as KODEX Money Market Active (686.2 billion won), known as a cash management solution, all ranked in the top ten for individual net purchases this year.
KODEX ETFs, chosen by individual investors, surpassed 100 trillion won in net assets in October this year. This milestone was achieved 23 years after the launch of KODEX 200, Korea's first ETF, in 2002. Net assets, which stood at 66 trillion won at the end of last year, grew by 46.9 trillion won in just one year, a surge of over 70%. Currently, KODEX's net assets total 113.1 trillion won, securing the top spot among all ETF management companies with a market share of 38.2%. This is attributed to balanced growth across all areas-including domestic and U.S. benchmark indices, semiconductors, AI power, money market, and covered call products-rather than reliance on specific products.
The growth of the covered call ETF market was also remarkable. The net assets of the 12 KODEX covered call ETFs reached 6.2083 trillion won, a 296% increase from 1.5686 trillion won at the beginning of the year. This accounts for 41.6% of the total covered call ETF market, which stands at 14.9262 trillion won, making KODEX the leader in the overall covered call market.
Lim Taehyuk, Head of ETF Management at SAMSUNG Asset Management, said, "In 2025, SAMSUNG Asset Management's KODEX set a milestone as the first in Korea to achieve 100 trillion won in net assets, and once again proved itself as the most trusted partner for investors. In 2026, we will continue to proactively launch innovative products in line with investment trends and take the lead in investor education, further establishing the standard for Korea's ETF market."
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