Hanwha Asset Management has identified PLUS Global Humanoid Robot Active and PLUS US Robotaxi ETFs as promising investment options in the field of "physical AI," a theme highlighted at CES 2026, the world's largest information technology and consumer electronics exhibition, on January 15.
CES is a stage where tech companies from around the world showcase their technological prowess, and this year, physical AI took center stage. Physical AI refers to artificial intelligence with a physical body. Representative examples include humanoid robots that move like humans, perceive the real world, and act autonomously, as well as autonomous vehicles and robotaxis that make decisions and operate transportation without human intervention.
Nvidia officially announced its entry into the autonomous driving market by unveiling its next-generation autonomous driving platform, "Alphamayo." Hyundai Motor, which introduced its new humanoid robot "Atlas" at CES, won the top award in the robotics category, leading to a sharp rise in its stock price. In addition, numerous humanoid robots ready for immediate deployment in homes and factories made their debut, signaling that physical AI, once a conceptual idea, has now become a reality.
Hanwha Asset Management has presented "PLUS Global Humanoid Robot Active" and "PLUS US Robotaxi" as two next-generation growth ETFs.
PLUS Global Humanoid Robot Active is an ETF that invests in completed humanoid robots and core materials, components, and equipment (MCE) in a 3:7 ratio. As the only actively managed ETF among domestically listed humanoid robot ETFs, it allows for preemptive investment without waiting for index inclusion when startups go public or global big tech companies begin to show results in the robotics business. In addition, it invests heavily in key MCE companies, such as actuator and sensor manufacturers, which account for about 66% of robot production costs, enabling investors to broadly benefit from the overall growth of the industry.
As of January 14, major holdings include Tesla, Rainbow Robotics, Robotis, and SPG. The ETF also holds more than 12% in companies that drew attention at CES, such as Hyundai Motor (3.76%), Hyundai Mobis (3.6%), HL Mando (2.92%), and Hyundai Glovis (2.35%). This ability to quickly reflect market conditions in the portfolio is thanks to its active management strategy.
Since its listing in April last year, the ETF has delivered a return of 88.8%, with a 65.80% return over the past six months. Its six-month and three-month returns have significantly outperformed those of passive ETFs in the same theme. Through active management, it has achieved 21.83% excess returns compared to its benchmark index since listing.
PLUS US Robotaxi ETF invests broadly across the robotaxi ecosystem, including autonomous driving service and core technology companies, as well as mobility platform companies. Hanwha Asset Management explains that the robotaxi industry is the key area where physical AI technology will first and most widely prove its commercial value.
Major holdings include Pony.ai, Baidu, WeRide, Uber, Tesla, Waymo (Alphabet), Lyft, and Nvidia. Since its listing in July last year, the ETF has risen 33.57% over about six months. It has recorded a 9.77% return since the beginning of the year and a 4.26% return over the past week.
Kim Jungsub, Head of the ETF Business Division at Hanwha Asset Management, predicted that this year will mark the beginning of full-scale competition in physical AI. He stated, "In the early stages of industry growth, it is difficult to predict the success or failure of individual companies. Investing in ETFs that cover the entire ecosystem, such as PLUS Global Humanoid Robot Active and PLUS US Robotaxi, is a good strategy to broadly enjoy the fruits of growth."
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