The gold investing boom sweeping the domestic stock market has also appeared to affect the performance of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). 6월 a series of gold-related ETFs were listed, and their returns diverged sharply. ETFs that track domestic gold prices delivered relatively better performance than products that follow international gold prices.
According to the Korea Exchange on 1st, over the past three months (Jul. 1–Sep. 30), among major asset managers' gold-related ETFs, Mirae Asset Global Investments' "TIGER KRX Gold Spot" ETF rose 35.34%, posting the highest gain. Compared with Shinhan Asset Management's "SOL International Gold" ETF (22.61%) and Samsung Asset Management's "KODEX Gold Active" ETF (22.01%), its return was much higher.
All of these products are newly listed ETFs from the end of 6월, and in just three months their returns have spread apart.
The wide gap in returns among gold ETFs stems from the so-called "kimchi premium," in which domestic gold prices are higher than international gold prices. In the KRX gold market, where spot gold is traded as the underlying, investment demand far outstripped supply, sending domestic gold prices sharply higher. As a result, domestic gold prices far exceeded international levels, and ETFs that track domestic prices posted higher returns than those that follow global prices.
According to the Korea Exchange, in the KRX gold market the previous day, spot gold traded at 194,850 won per gram, up 5.1% from the day before. Compared with the international price of 174,400 won, the price divergence exceeded 10%.
Differences in the indexes the products track also split performance. The "SOL International Gold" ETF and the "KODEX Gold Active" ETF both follow international gold prices, but they track prices calculated in the North American market and the London gold market, respectively, resulting in a slight difference in returns.
A Samsung Asset Management official said, "We launched the gold ETF with an active strategy to use declines in gold prices to generate excess returns," noting, "Because we have not yet fully deployed the active strategy, it appears that differences in the tracking indexes have driven the return gap with passive products for now."
However, some note that the high premium attached to domestic gold spot ETFs could be a double-edged sword. Domestic gold prices tend to converge to international prices after an adjustment, so if investors buy at inflated levels and gold falls back to international levels, it could lead to losses.
On 26th, the Korea Exchange, via a press release, urged caution to investors, saying, "Given that recent prices in the KRX gold market are being formed higher than international gold prices, please exercise care when investing."
When investing in gold-related products, the exchange rate is also a key variable. The two products that track international gold are both currency-unhedged products, and since listing, the won-dollar exchange rate has climbed into the 1,400-won range, generating foreign exchange gains.
Even if a product tracks domestic gold, domestic gold prices already reflect the exchange rate, so they generally move similarly to international gold prices. Experts advised that when trading gold ETFs, exchange-rate movements have a meaningful impact and the direction of the won should also be considered.