Active ETFs Are Now in the Spotlight: A 23 Trillion Won Market Shaking the South Korean Stock Market

[Financial News] So far this year, money has poured rapidly into domestic equity Active ETFs, reshaping even the share-price movements of individual stocks, especially in KOSDAQ. Securities firms say Active ETFs have gone beyond being a simple investment product and have become a new pillar of supply and demand in the South Korean stock market.
According to Mirae Asset Securities on the 21st, the net assets of domestically listed equity Active ETFs rose from 34.8 billion won in 2020 to 23.5 trillion won as of that day. Their share of the overall equity ETF market also expanded to 8.7%.
Among newly listed equity ETFs this year, Active ETFs accounted for 35.5%, far above the five-year average of 27.8%.
Researcher Jae-hong Yoon at Mirae Asset Securities said, "Based on solid performance, Korea-listed equity Active ETFs are growing quickly." He added, "The biggest feature is that since the second half of last year, fund inflows into Active ETFs overall have expanded, while inflows into Korean equity products have accelerated."
The actual fund flow is steep. Total inflows into equity Active ETFs jumped from a monthly average of 59.5 billion won in 2021-2024 to 526.9 billion won in 2025. So far this year, the monthly average has climbed further to 986.3 billion won.
Korean equity Active ETFs rose from a monthly average of 28.6 billion won in the same period to 160.3 billion won, and then to 785.9 billion won this year. Their share of total Active ETF inflows also increased from an average of 48.1% in 2021-2024 to 79.4% this year. In effect, the center of the Active ETF market is shifting from overseas products to domestic ones.
The market shift is also clear in the top products by net assets. KODEX U.S. S&P 500 Active ETF is the largest at 1.5514 trillion won, but large thematic products such as TIME Global AI Supply Chain Active ETF (1.5225 trillion won), TIME US Nasdaq 100 Active ETF (1.2893 trillion won), and ACE Tesla Value Chain Active ETF (1.2567 trillion won) also rank near the top. In the domestic segment, KODEX Robot Active (1.0736 trillion won), Mirae Asset TIGER Dividend Premium Active ETF (1.0277 trillion won), and KoAct KOSDAQ Active ETF (1.0082 trillion won) are among the leading products.
The top products by cumulative inflows this year show the same trend. KoAct KOSDAQ Active ETF led with 621.4 billion won, followed by Mirae Asset TIGER Dividend Premium Active ETF (618.8 billion won), KODEX Robot Active (387.7 billion won), TIMEFOLIO TIME Korea Plus Dividend Active ETF (335.4 billion won), and Shinhan SOL Korea Mega Tech Active ETF (241.4 billion won).
Performance is also supporting the trend. Mirae Asset Securities said the average absolute return of Active ETFs over the past month was 8.1%, while relative return was -0.03 percentage points. Over the past six months, they posted an absolute return of 35.5% and a relative return of 4.7 percentage points. In particular, Korean equity Active ETFs delivered a six-month absolute return of 54.5% and a relative return of 2.3 percentage points.
A similar pattern is visible in the U.S. market. Even in the United States, which accounts for 70% of the global exchange-traded fund market, equity Active ETFs continue to grow. The U.S. equity active ETF market is worth $1.1319 trillion, or 9.8% of the overall equity ETF market. Over the past four years, assets under management have risen 657%, while the share has increased by 6.93 percentage points.
Yoon said, "During market upswings, rebalancing through additions and removals in Active ETFs has translated into real excess returns." He added, "Korean equity Active ETFs are broadly diversified, while overseas equity products tend to concentrate performance in a small number of names." He also forecast that "in the current broad market rally, an Active ETF approach could be an effective strategy from a momentum perspective."
dschoi@fnnews.com Choi Du-seon Reporter