Samsung Global Humanoid Robot Fund Achieves 41.8% Return Over Past Six Months

At CES 2026, humanoid robots have emerged as a key issue, and funds that allow investment in the global humanoid robot industry are attracting investor attention with their outstanding returns.

On January 22, Samsung Asset Management announced that the "Samsung Global Humanoid Robot Fund" recorded a six-month return of 41.8% (Ae Class, as of January 21). This fund is the world's first public fund to focus on investments in the global humanoid robot industry.

Launched in February last year, the fund has grown rapidly, surpassing 200 billion won in assets under management in less than a year. Analysts attribute its strong appeal for investors to its early recognition of the growth potential of the humanoid robot industry, proactive investments, and high returns achieved through an active management approach.

Over the past six months, the Samsung Global Humanoid Robot Fund has delivered returns of 41.8% for the unhedged (UH) type and 36.4% for the hedged (H) type (Ae Class). These results outperform the Nasdaq 100 Index’s increase of about 7.9% during the same period. The fund’s flexible, active management strategy, which allows the manager to adapt to market conditions, has been a key factor in its success.

In practice, the fund has actively managed returns by dramatically adjusting stock allocations according to market conditions. Initially, the weights for Tesla and Robotis were minimal, but starting last summer, the fund proactively increased their allocations to as much as 22% and 15%, respectively, in response to their growth momentum, thereby maximizing returns.

After realizing profits from sharp stock price increases, the fund has now stabilized the weights of these two stocks to below 10%. At the same time, it is swiftly diversifying its portfolio with next-generation humanoid-related companies that are gaining renewed attention.

Despite being a global fund, it has maintained a high allocation of over 25% to domestic robot-related stocks with distinctive technological strengths, delivering differentiated performance. The fund features strategic diversification not only into global leaders such as Tesla and UBTECH, but also into leading Korean companies like Robotis and Rainbow Robotics.

Lee Sungjae, manager at Samsung Asset Management, explained, "If 2025 was the year when physical AI was formally introduced to the market, 2026 will be the year when physical AI spreads across industries." He added, "As the growth potential of physical AI continues to improve, we will continue to deliver the fruits of growth to investors by staying ahead of market changes through active management."

Samsung Asset Management also offers a lineup of ETFs investing in the humanoid robot industry by country. These include "KODEX Robot Active" for investments in the Korean robot industry, "KODEX US Humanoid Robot" for the US humanoid robot industry, and "KODEX China Humanoid Robot" for the Chinese humanoid robot industry.