Mirae Asset Global Investments said on the 12th that the average return last year of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) it manages around the world was 27.9%.
It said the result is the average of the one-year total return (TR) last year, based on each product's local currency, for 605 products among ETFs managed across 13 regions worldwide, including Korea and the United States, that have been listed for at least a year.
The figure outperformed both the S&P 500 (18.1% on a TR basis) and the Nasdaq 100 (21.2% on a TR basis) over the same period. A total of 25 products recorded returns of 100% or more.
The top tier of last year's returns was swept by commodity-related ETFs such as gold and silver. Global X Gold Explorers (GOEX US), which invests in gold exploration corporations, ranked first with a 186.6% return, and Global X Silver Miners UCITS (SILV LN), which invests in silver mining corporations, ranked second with a 184.9% return.
Buoyed by the strength of the domestic stock market, domestic equity products of the TIGER ETF also stood out. Nine products, including TIGER K-Defense & Space, posted returns of 100% or more.
TIGER 200, which invests in Korea's benchmark index, also recorded a 94.8% return on the back of low fees and ample liquidity. TIGER Semiconductor TOP10, the domestic semiconductor ETF with the largest net worth, posted a 121.1% return.
Some products also saw a sharp increase in inflows on the back of strong returns. Global X Defense Tech (SHLD US) returned 75.2% last year, far outpacing competing products iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense (ITA US, 48.7%) and Invesco Aerospace & Defense (PPA US, 37%). Inflows totaled $3.5 billion last year alone, pushing net worth above $5 billion.
Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology (AIQ US), a global AI single-theme product, posted a 32.4% return last year, with $3.6 billion in net inflows. Global X HSCEI Covered Call Active, Hong Kong's representative income product, also recorded an 18.2% return, drawing net inflows of more than $2 billion last year.
Park Hyeon-joo, chairman and global strategist (GSO) of Mirae Asset Group, has emphasized the importance of differentiated products that can change the market through last year's ETF rally, so-called "killer products."
Mirae Asset is leveraging its global network to actively provide killer products to investors. In particular, Mirae Asset has built a global ETF management ecosystem that oversees the ETF business from index development to liquidity provision. Through this, ETF experts in various fields collaborate to analyze investor demand and industry growth potential and, based on that, take the lead in product development. It is also pursuing a strategy of expanding and launching in other regions, reflecting local investor preferences, indexes devised in a specific region.
This is also opening new frontiers. Last year it unveiled Global X Investment Grade Corporate Bond (GXIG), a U.S. corporate bond investment product based on AI management. It also launched Global X Bitcoin Covered Call (BCCC US), a covered-call product using bitcoin. Mirae Asset is offering global investors a total of 16 products that use virtual assets, including spot-type, Blockchain theme-type, and income-type products.
Kim Young-hwan, president and head of global management at Mirae Asset Global Investments, said, "Mirae Asset has continued a growth strategy that prioritizes providing differentiated products," adding, "This achievement is a case in which product competitiveness based on Mirae Asset's global network, including Global X, has been proven by actual returns and capital inflows."
He added, "We will do our best to deliver differentiated performance to investors by discovering killer products."