From Returns and Retail Buying to Pension Use... Korea Investment Management Proposes Four Chuseok ETFs

[Financial News] Ahead of the Chuseok holiday, ETFs tailored to different investment objectives were highlighted, ranging from AI semiconductors that have posted strong returns this year and major U.S. indices that have attracted heavy retail investment to bond-balanced products that can be used in retirement pension accounts.
Korea Investment Management said on the 23rd that it had selected four ACE ETFs after considering their performance since the beginning of the year, fund inflows, suitability for long-term investment and use in retirement pensions. For Chuseok, the products were grouped under "ACE Hongdongbaekseo," a reinterpretation of the traditional table-setting custom in which red foods are placed in the east and white foods in the west.
For "Hong," meaning red, the company selected the ACE AI Semiconductor TOP3+ ETF, which recorded one of the highest returns among ACE ETFs this year. According to the Korea Exchange (KRX), its year-to-date return stood at 131.20% as of the previous day, the highest among ACE ETFs excluding leveraged products. Its returns over the past six months and one year were 27.70% and 232%, respectively.
Net assets also grew sharply. The net assets of the ACE AI Semiconductor TOP3+ ETF rose from KRW 133.6 billion at the beginning of the year to KRW 1.1778 trillion, an increase of more than 781%. The fund is believed to have benefited from the rally in AI semiconductors by investing in domestic AI semiconductor companies with core HBM-related technologies and significant market shares.
For "Dong," meaning active, the company included the ACE Life Asset Shareholder Value Active ETF, which emphasizes active management. The product recorded a return 77.31 percentage points higher than its benchmark index since the beginning of the year, the largest outperformance among all domestic active ETFs. Its returns over the past six months and one year were 45.35% and 133.13%, respectively. The fund actively selects large-cap value stocks with strong potential for expanded shareholder returns and improved corporate governance.
For "Baek," meaning 100, the company selected the ACE US Nasdaq 100 ETF. Net purchases by individual investors since the beginning of the year totaled KRW 503.6 billion, the highest among ACE ETFs. Its returns over the past one and three years were 20.67% and 108.29%, respectively, while its return since listing was 221.72%.
For "Seo," meaning west, the company selected the ACE US S&P 500 US Treasury Balanced 50 Active ETF, which combines a major U.S. index with U.S. Treasury bonds. Net purchases by individual investors since the beginning of the year totaled KRW 29.6 billion, the highest among ACE's bond-balanced ETFs. Its returns over the past one and three years were 4.35% and 34.19%, respectively, while its return since listing was 42.58%.
As a bond-balanced ETF, the product can be fully included within the 30% safe-asset allocation limit for defined-contribution (DC) and individual retirement pension (IRP) accounts. Using it can raise the effective share allocation in a retirement pension account to as much as 85%.
Yongsoo Nam, head of the ETF division at Korea Investment Management, said, "Asset management for investors also requires a balanced portfolio that takes long-term growth potential into account. We selected products that can be used according to investment objectives, ranging from AI semiconductors and active ETFs to major U.S. indices and bond-balanced products." 

[email protected] Bae Han-geul Reporter