Tech Funds Surge as AI Investment Spreads; Korea Investment Tech Fund Posts 148% One-Year Return

[Financial News] Korea Investment Management’s Korea Investment Tech Fund ranked first among domestic tech funds across various periods, buoyed by expanded investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and improved earnings in related industries, including semiconductors and power grids.
Korea Investment Management announced on the 17th that the Korea Investment Tech Fund ranked first among domestically established tech funds in returns over the past six months, since the beginning of the year, and over the past year.
According to fund evaluator FnGuide, there were 57 domestic public funds with “tech” in their names as of the closing price on the 16th. Among them, Korea Investment Tech Fund No. 2 posted the highest returns: 31.66% over the past six months, 97.88% since the beginning of the year, and 147.53% over the past year.
The Korea Investment Tech Fund has a master-feeder structure and operates two feeder funds, Nos. 1 and 2. The two funds have 11 and four classes, respectively. Of these, 10 classes ranked among the top 10 performers across all 461 tech fund classes over the past six months, since the beginning of the year, and over the past year.
The No. 2 C-W class, which delivered the strongest performance among the classes, posted returns of 31.49% over the past six months, 97.55% since the beginning of the year, and 146.93% over the past year. Its returns over the past three years and since inception were 172.37% and 712.23%, respectively.
The strong performance has also attracted inflows. As of the 16th, the combined assets under management of all classes of Korea Investment Tech Fund No. 1 stood at 52.8 billion won, up 208.77% from the beginning of the year.
Major holdings include Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, PSK Holdings, and Intekplus. The fund’s performance is believed to have benefited from the spread of gains across related industries, including power grids and the electrification of mobility, as AI data center investment expanded beyond semiconductors.
Eun Chi-gwan, head of equity management at Korea Investment Management, said, "As capital spending on AI data center facilities reached a record high, the benefits of AI spread across infrastructure as a whole, including power grid expansion and the electrification of mobility." He added, "Improved earnings and valuation re-ratings for key holdings drove medium- to long-term returns."   

[email protected] Bae Han-geul Reporter