Hanwha Asset Management proposed three investment products as 30-year long-term theme investments in line with the global supply chain realignment: the "PLUS K-Defense" and "PLUS K-Defense Materials, Parts and Equipment" exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and the "Hanwha K-Defense, Shipbuilding and Nuclear Power" fund.
Choi Young-jin, chief marketing officer (CMO) of Hanwha Asset Management, assessed that cracks have formed in the U.S.-led free trade system that solidified after the Cold War. Conflicts are continuing around the world, and the power struggle between the United States and China is only just beginning, Choi said.
On the 3rd, during China's Victory Day commemoration, the leaders of China, Russia and North Korea standing together on the Tiananmen rostrum served as a symbol. Choi said, "The era of conflict and dispute will take root as the 'global new normal' and last for at least 20 to 30 years."
In the new Cold War framework, defense, shipbuilding and nuclear power generation are cited as strategic industries underpinning national security, energy and the economic order. Choi said Korean corporations in these fields have not only secured competitiveness but are also emerging as the core of supply chains.
He said, "The structurally favored K-defense, shipbuilding and nuclear power industries are core long-term assets that must be included in portfolios for decades to come in step with the global new Cold War framework," adding, "We must not miss the opportunity of global supply chain realignment triggered by structural changes in the international order."
The three products Hanwha Asset Management presented as suitable for long-term investment include leading defense corporations and materials, parts and equipment corporations, as well as shipbuilding and nuclear power corporations.
Since the start of this year, Hanwha Asset Management has also supplied a K-defense index to the "KDEF" ETF of U.S.-based ETC. The current assets under custody of the "KDEF" ETF total $55 million. Recently, with the launches of the "Hanwha K-Defense, Shipbuilding and Nuclear Power" fund and the "PLUS K-Defense Materials, Parts and Equipment" ETF, it has been continually expanding investment opportunities across the broader defense industry and its ecosystem. On the 30th, it is set to launch the "PLUS K-Defense Leverage" ETF.
Choi said, "Hanwha Asset Management will continue to proactively capture investment opportunities amid changes in the international order and provide long-term, tangible opportunities for asset growth."