Samsung Asset Management’s ‘KODEX U.S. Nasdaq 100 Daily Covered Call OTM’ Surpasses 1 Trillion Won in Net Assets

[Financial News] Daily covered call products, which invest in the Nasdaq’s long-term growth while collecting option-selling premiums every day, are becoming a core asset for investors.
According to Samsung Asset Management on the 2nd, the net assets of the ‘KODEX U.S. Nasdaq 100 Daily Covered Call OTM’ exchange-traded fund (ETF) surpassed 1 trillion won. The milestone came just over one year and 10 months after the ETF was listed on October 22, 2024.
Steady buying by individual investors played a major role. Individual investors’ net purchases since the beginning of the year totaled 530.2 billion won. Analysts say investors continued to turn to the product because they sought stable monthly cash flow amid an uncertain macroeconomic environment without giving up on the growth potential of leading U.S. technology stocks, which have generally been trending upward.
The ‘KODEX U.S. Nasdaq 100 Daily Covered Call OTM’ employs a 100% covered call strategy based on the Nasdaq-100 Index, using daily sales of out-of-the-money (OTM) call options. The strike price is set at an OTM level of about 1% relative to the Nasdaq-100 Index on the day. If the index rises but remains below the strike price, all of the resulting market gains are reflected in the ETF. This allows investors to receive both capital gains of up to around 1% per day and option premiums.
Unlike existing ETFs listed in South Korea, whose real-time trading has been limited by the time difference with the U.S. options market, the fund trades physical options in the United States on the same day. By applying same-day trading of physical options without a time lag, it has improved trading accuracy and reduced unnecessary operating costs.
Because the amount of option premium income generated each day varies, the annual distribution rate is capped at 20%, or about 1.67% per month. If premiums exceed that level, the excess income is reinvested to provide the benefits of compounding.
Lim Tae-hyuk, an executive vice president at Samsung Asset Management’s ETF Management Division, said, "Investors are responding strongly because this is a covered call product with an intuitive return structure based on a familiar leading U.S. index." He added, "It is suitable for investors who expect the U.S. stock market to rise gradually or move sideways in the future."

[email protected] Reporter Lim Min-ji Reporter