[Provided by Samsung Asset Management]
[Provided by Samsung Asset Management]

Samsung Asset Management announced Thursday that its KODEX 200 Covered Call Active ETF surpassed 500 billion won ($353 million) in net assets within roughly a month of its July 14 listing.

The milestone was driven by a steady inflow of retail investor funds since the listing. Net assets reached 536.4 billion won, of which retail net purchases accounted for 465.2 billion won — the highest retail net purchase figure among covered call ETFs on a one-month basis and third overall across all ETFs, including leveraged products.

The strong retail interest stemmed from the fund's first monthly distribution, which validated its monthly dividend performance. KODEX 200 Covered Call Active paid its inaugural monthly distribution of 153 won per unit at the end of July, representing a monthly distribution rate of approximately 2.1 percent.

The fund plans to pay a second monthly distribution at the end of August.

KODEX 200 Covered Call Active is built on KOSPI 200 constituent stocks but employs an active strategy that overweights market-leading industries and key companies driving the domestic stock market — including the semiconductor sector — as well as shareholder-return stocks, relative to its benchmark index.

The fund plans to actively diversify its holdings in response to market shifts and emerging technology trends. Its options management approach is also designed to be flexible, taking overall market conditions into account.

In markets expected to rise, the fund reduces its options-selling exposure to capture more of the upside. In falling or range-bound markets, it seeks to maximize options premium income to deliver cash flow to investors.

The product also offers tax advantages. Gains from domestic options premiums and domestic stock trading profits are not subject to taxation, and only income derived from stock dividends is subject to a 15.4 percent dividend income tax.

The ETF is available not only through regular brokerage accounts but also through pension savings accounts, individual retirement pension accounts and defined-contribution retirement pension accounts.

"The domestic stock market remains undervalued relative to earnings, but volatility is high," said Song A-hyeon, a fund manager at Samsung Asset Management. "Retail investors continue to seek products that can secure stable monthly cash flow regardless of market conditions, while still investing in market-leading and shareholder-return stocks."


jiyun@heraldcorp.com