A promotional image for Shinhan Investment's Light product lineup. [Provided by Shinhan Investment]
A promotional image for Shinhan Investment's Light product lineup. [Provided by Shinhan Investment]

Shinhan Investment is expanding its lineup of "Light" products — a range of online financial products designed to lower investment costs for customers. The products eliminate upfront sales fees on public funds and reduce management costs on bonds and equity-linked securities (ELS). Light bonds alone surpassed 100 billion won ($70.7 million) in sales within a month of launch.

Shinhan Investment said Thursday that the Light products were introduced to the Shinhan SOL Securities app on July 12 and are designed to cut the costs incurred during the sale and management of online financial products, passing the savings on to customers. The initiative aims to build a long-term customer base by reducing the upfront investment burden rather than chasing short-term fee revenue.

Light bonds, offered across 14 products, sold more than 100 billion won within a month of their debut — more than double the average monthly non-face-to-face bond sales recorded last year.

The Light ELS lineup now covers 15 products with enhanced coupon rate competitiveness. On the public fund side, the company has cut the upfront sales fee on non-face-to-face public funds (Ae-class) to zero. Subscriptions are currently concentrated in bond-mixed products, and Shinhan Investment plans to expand its new public fund lineup going forward.

Shinhan Investment posted sharply improved earnings in the first half of this year, driven by growth in fee revenue from financial products and other sources. Net profit for the period reached 577.7 billion won in the first half, up 123.1 percent from the same period last year, while operating profit rose 135.0 percent to 748.4 billion won. Higher equity brokerage and financial product fee revenue, fueled by increased trading volume amid a buoyant capital market, drove the improvement.

Shinhan Investment is also running a promotional event through Sept. 30, offering department store gift certificates by lottery to customers who purchase a cumulative 10 million won or more in funds, bonds or ELS through the Light product menu.

Kwon Young-dae, head of Shinhan Investment's investment products division, said the results over the past month proved that "mutual-benefit finance" — easing the burden on customers rather than fixating on short-term fee income — resonates with the market and investors. "Going forward, we will move away from short-term performance-driven sales and continue to introduce financial solutions that redefine products and services from the customer's perspective and deliver real benefits to investors," he said.


hajun825@heraldcorp.com