Retail investors' cumulative net purchases reach 75.4 billion won since listing
One-month return at 11.99%, three-month return at 34.98%
Samsung Asset Management said Wednesday that its KODEX Solid-State Battery ESS TOP2 Plus ETF has surpassed 200 billion won ($151 million) in net assets, just four months after its June 23 listing. As of Tuesday's close, net assets stood at 237.6 billion won.
The milestone has been driven largely by retail investor inflows. Cumulative net purchases by retail investors since listing have reached 75.4 billion won, with about 23.3 billion won flowing in over the past month alone.
The fund's one-month return of 11.99% and three-month return of 34.98% rank among the top performers of domestically listed ETFs. Since its June 23 listing, the fund has posted a return of 6.88%, placing it first among all secondary battery and materials ETFs listed in South Korea.
Investor interest in solid-state batteries and ESS has grown as AI spreads rapidly, driving demand for power infrastructure to support data centers, humanoid robots and other AI-related industries.
The KODEX Solid-State Battery ESS TOP2 Plus invests simultaneously in the two growth pillars of the battery industry — solid-state batteries and ESS. About 50 percent of the fund is concentrated in LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI. LG Energy Solution has been ramping up ESS production facilities in the United States to target the North American market, while Samsung SDI is preparing to launch new lithium iron phosphate-based ESS products and begin mass production of solid-state batteries in the fourth quarter.
The remaining half of the fund holds ESS value-chain companies — including Sangsin EDP, Seojin System, Han Jung N.C.S. and SFA Nexcel — alongside solid-state battery value-chain firms such as ISU Specialty Chemical, Daejoo Electronic Materials, Lotte Energy Materials, Posco Future M and L&F.
"ESS is seeing sales growth driven by the expansion of AI power infrastructure, and solid-state batteries are an area where the next wave of growth is anticipated as mass-production timelines become more concrete," said Shin Hyun-jin, a fund manager at Samsung Asset Management. "We expect KODEX Solid-State Battery ESS TOP2 Plus to serve as an effective vehicle for investors to participate in both the present and future growth of the battery industry."
Samsung Asset Management has been actively expanding its ETF lineup. On Tuesday it listed the KODEX US Dividend Dow Jones Active, and on Oct. 13 it launched the KODEX US AI Agent Active. The net assets of the KODEX US NASDAQ 100 also surpassed 10 trillion won on Thursday.
yuni@heraldcorp.com
