As the KOSPI rally continues, competition among securities firms to attract retail investors is heating up. In the past, they touted overseas stocks such as Nvidia and Apple as prizes, but recently a "new trend" has emerged in which stocks like Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which are driving the KOSPI's rise, are offered as giveaways.
According to the financial investment industry on the 26th, Eugene Investment & Securities is running an event from on the 28th to Mar. 31 for investors who purchase 10 million won or more of domestic stocks through the firm's account, giving away shares of Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and Hyundai Motor. The first-place winner receives 100 shares of Samsung Electronics, the second-place winner gets 10 shares of Hyundai Motor, and the third-place winner receives 1 share of SK hynix.
Shinhan Investment & Securities is also offering prizes from Mar. 9 to Apr. 30, drawing 30 investors each month from those who trade 1 million won or more per month in domestic stocks through the firm's account, and awarding six large-cap domestic stocks worth about 1.2 million won. The target stocks are Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, Doosan Enerbility, Naver, Celltrion, and Hanwha Ocean.
Events that give domestic stocks as prizes when opening a firm account for the first time or participating in missions are also coming one after another. Kiwoom Securities is running an event through Mar. 31 to give 1 share of Samsung Electronics to customers who open an account. Toss Securities is holding an event through Mar. 24 to draw one investor each day from those who complete missions such as "buy 10,000 won or more of domestic stocks," awarding SK hynix shares.
Competition is also fierce to attract customers who use accounts at other securities firms. KB Securities is running an event for customers who transfer a domestic stock account from another securities firm and trade 10 million won or more in domestic stocks at KB Securities, giving away stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
This contrasts with the past, when securities firms held overseas stock events to attract customers. In Aug. last year, Shinhan Investment & Securities ran an event for new account holders and others, awarding six U.S. stocks—Amazon, Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet A, Microsoft, and Tesla—within a range of 20,000 won to 1 million won. Woori Investment & Securities also held an event in Dec. last year for first-time account openers, giving major fractional U.S. stocks such as Nvidia and Tesla.
This shift is seen as stemming from the domestic stock market's returns outpacing the U.S. market this year. Since the start of the year, the KOSPI is up 44.3%, far exceeding the S&P 500 (0.65%) and the Nasdaq 100 (-1.08%). A securities firm official said, "While overseas stocks are moving sideways, the Korean stock market is doing well, so we decided to run events focused on large-cap domestic stocks."
In particular, the stocks offered as prizes by securities firms are large-cap technology names such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which have led the recent rise in the domestic market. With market momentum concentrated in a handful of mega-caps, marketing strategies have been aligned accordingly, analysts said.
An official at a securities firm said, "At present, aside from a few large caps such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, small and mid caps are not showing a clear upward trend," adding, "When planning events, we tend to focus on 'national favorites' with strong symbolism and recognition rather than materials, parts and equipment or KOSDAQ names."
As of on the 25th, the market capitalizations of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix stood at 1,211 trillion won and 726 trillion won, respectively, with the two combined accounting for about 39% (1,937 trillion won) of the entire Korea Exchange main board.
Guidance from financial authorities to refrain from overseas stock marketing also appears to have had an impact. The Financial Supervisory Service recommended that the securities industry suspend new cash-like events and advertisements related to overseas investment through Mar., and to refrain from including related KPIs and marketing when drawing up this year's business plans.
Another securities industry official said, "Given the current atmosphere of refraining from events related to overseas stocks, offering overseas stocks as prizes in this campaign could be out of step with the government's stance, and that was likely taken into consideration."