₩220 billion flows into semiconductor materials, components and equipment ETFs in a month as individual buying continues

[Financial News] Amid continued volatility in the semiconductor sector, individual investors are steadily buying exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that invest in materials, components and equipment companies. Expectations of earnings growth driven by improving memory market conditions and increased investment in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) appear to be drawing funds into these products.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 14th, individual investors’ net purchases of three ETFs managed by Shinhan Asset Management—the SOL AI Semiconductor Materials & Equipment ETF, SOL Semiconductor Front-End Process ETF and SOL Semiconductor Back-End Process ETF—totaled 223.1 billion won over the past month, as of the previous day.
The three funds’ net assets also rose sharply. Net assets stood at 1.3569 trillion won for the SOL AI Semiconductor Materials & Equipment ETF, 465.2 billion won for the SOL Semiconductor Front-End Process ETF and 172 billion won for the SOL Semiconductor Back-End Process ETF. Since the start of the year, their net assets have increased by 892.3 billion won, 429 billion won and 147.8 billion won, respectively, for a combined increase of 1.4691 trillion won.
Growth continued into the second half of the year. From the end of June through the 13th of this month, net assets rose by 116.1 billion won for the SOL AI Semiconductor Materials & Equipment ETF, 192.7 billion won for the SOL Semiconductor Front-End Process ETF and 88.6 billion won for the SOL Semiconductor Back-End Process ETF.
Analysts say that memory makers’ capacity expansions and process improvements, along with increased HBM investment, are raising expectations for the medium- to long-term growth of semiconductor materials, components and equipment companies. In the non-memory segment, capital spending by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) and increased investment by global outsourced semiconductor packaging and testing (OSAT) companies are expected to support demand for related equipment.
In front-end processes, key variables include new capacity expansions by memory makers and whether they resume NAND investment. In back-end processes, growing demand for packaging and testing as HBM4 production ramps up, along with advances in advanced packaging technology, could provide additional growth drivers.
Kim Jeong-hyeon, head of the ETF Business Group at Shinhan Asset Management, said, “Expectations for an improvement in the global memory market and increased HBM investment are translating into individual investors’ interest in semiconductor materials, components and equipment ETFs. Despite short-term volatility in the semiconductor sector, investment demand focused on the medium- to long-term growth potential of leading materials, components and equipment companies continues to flow in.”
He added, “The scale of next year’s capital expenditures and plans for further capacity expansions that Samsung Electronics and SK hynix present in their third- and fourth-quarter earnings announcements will be important variables.”
[email protected] Bae Hangeul Reporter