Year-to-date return reaches 219%
AI investment cycle expands to infrastructure, packaging
Samsung Asset Management announced Wednesday that the net assets of its KODEX AI Semiconductor TOP2 Plus exchange-traded fund have surpassed 5 trillion won ($3.22 billion), reaching 5.29 trillion won.
The figure represents more than a doubling in roughly a month and a half, up from around 2.2 trillion won before the fund's index remodeling on May 13.
Retail investor buying has been particularly strong. On June 22, the ETF recorded net purchases by retail investors of 150.8 billion won in a single day, topping all domestic ETFs for that session.
Cumulative net purchases by retail investors since the index remodeling have reached 1.01 trillion won, and the year-to-date figure has exceeded 1.24 trillion won.
The surge in investor inflows reflects the fund's strong performance. KODEX AI Semiconductor TOP2 Plus has posted a year-to-date return of 219.2%, with a one-month return of 5.9%.
Industry analysts say investment demand is concentrating in AI-related companies as the AI investment cycle broadens beyond traditional memory chips to encompass AI infrastructure, high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and advanced packaging.
The ETF focuses on core companies in the AI semiconductor value chain, centering its strategy on SK hynix and Samsung Electronics.
A recent periodic rebalancing added SK Square to the portfolio, giving the fund a 26.4% weighting in the stock — the highest among domestic semiconductor ETFs excluding leveraged products.
SK Square holds a 20.5% stake in SK hynix. Its market cap stands at around 220 trillion won, making it the third-largest on the Kospi. The share price has surged 377.4% compared with the end of last year, based on Tuesday's close.
"Investor attention to semiconductors — the sector that stands to benefit most from AI industry growth — continues to expand," said Lee Dae-hwan, a fund manager at Samsung Asset Management. "As AI infrastructure investment grows and demand for next-generation semiconductors rises, we expect sustained interest in ETFs that concentrate on the companies at the center of that trend."
jiyun@heraldcorp.com
