A Variety of Benefits Offered by Each Securities Company
To mark the 10th anniversary of the launch of the Individual Savings Account (ISA), the securities industry will hold an ISA subscription and investment event for the entire month starting March 3.
According to the Korea Financial Investment Association on March 2, the event has been jointly organized with securities companies to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the introduction of the ISA, to rehighlight the role of ISA in supporting the accumulation of national assets, and to further promote asset management through ISA.
The ISA, introduced in March 2016 as a tax-advantaged account product to support wealth accumulation through comprehensive asset management for the public, allows individuals to invest in a range of financial products-such as domestically listed stocks, funds, ETFs, and deposits-within a single account.
A total of 21 securities companies are participating in this event, and each company plans to offer various benefits to customers who newly open an ISA account, make additional contributions, or transfer their account.
The catchphrase for the event is "ISA 10th Anniversary: Today's Investment Builds Tomorrow." Through a month-long series of events utilizing this catchphrase, securities companies aim to stress the significance of the ISA’s 10th anniversary and to communicate the message that consistent preparation and investment through ISA can help build substantial wealth for the future.
The biggest advantages of ISA are the offsetting of investment gains and losses, and tax savings. After a certain period, profits and losses from different financial products within the account can be offset, and for standard ISAs, up to 2 million won in net profits (up to 4 million won for low-income types) is tax-exempt. Any amount exceeding this is subject to a low separate tax rate of 9.9%. Account holders can also benefit from additional compound interest effects due to tax deferral until the account is closed.
As of the end of January this year, the number of ISA subscribers has grown to about 8 million, with a total subscription amount of 50 trillion won. In the early stages, ISAs were mainly trust-type accounts, and within three months of launch, the number of subscribers surpassed 2 million, attracting significant attention. However, the number of subscribers then stagnated at around 2 million for a period. Since February 2021, following the introduction of the "investment brokerage-type ISA," which allows subscribers to directly invest in various financial investment products within their account, both the number of subscribers and the total subscription amount have steadily increased.
In particular, amid the recent boom in the domestic stock market, 6.4 trillion won in new subscriptions flowed into ISAs during January alone, and the number of subscribers increased by an average of about 370,000 per month over the three months from November last year to January this year, indicating a sharp upward trend.
Jae-Young Han, Head of the K-Capital Market Division at the Korea Financial Investment Association, stated, "Over the past 10 years, the ISA has grown to become the leading product supporting household wealth accumulation for the public. We hope that this event will encourage more people to take an interest in investment and asset management and to actively utilize ISAs."
Meanwhile, as the details of the event may vary by securities company, it is recommended to check each company's website for more specific information.
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