In the first half of this year, Korea's exchange-traded fund (ETF) market posted results surpassing last year as the semiconductor upcycle aligned with leverage effects. While products tracking broad indexes such as the KOSPI200 led last year, in the first half of this year, concentrated-investment products targeting the semiconductor value chain—led by artificial intelligence (AI) high-bandwidth memory (HBM)—dominated the market.
On the 1st, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX) information data system, among Korea's ETFs from Dec. 30 of last year to Jun. 30 of this year, Mirae Asset Global Investments' "TIGER 200IT Leverage" ranked first with a return of 781.50%.
This product, which ranked second last year with an annual return of 304.49%, widened its gains significantly in the first half of this year to take the top spot.
In the first half of this year, the leveraged ETF market was the sole stage for the semiconductor sector. As a tandem rally by Korea's large-cap IT and semiconductor stocks, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, continued, related products swept the top ranks.
The second-highest return was "KODEX Semiconductor Leverage," which surged 505.22% in the first half of this year. "TIGER Semiconductor TOP10 Leverage" also delivered a high return of 370.07%. Following were major index-type leveraged products such as "HANARO 200 Futures Leverage" (332.58%), "PLUS 200 Futures Leverage" (331.35%) and "TIGER Leverage" (330.68%), all posting strong results around 300%.
Even in the plain ETF market without applying a multiple (2x), semiconductor strength was clear. "HANARO Fn K-Semiconductor" rose 291.12% in the first half of this year to rank first among plain products.
In particular, HBM-related products at the center of the AI semiconductor boom stood out. "PLUS Global HBM Semiconductor" rose 243.18% to take second place.
Also, products investing in detailed value chains within the semiconductor ecosystem, such as "KODEX AI Semiconductor TOP2 Plus" (225.54%), "IBK K-AI Semiconductor Core Tech" (223.09%), "WON Semiconductor Value Chain Active" (212.76%) and "UNICORN SK hynix Value Chain Active" (209.86%), were positioned in the top ranks.
In the asset management industry, the view was that the first-half ETF market saw liquidity concentrate in the semiconductor sector as the AI industry came to the fore. Analysis said return gaps appeared depending on whether investors chose leveraged or value-chain-concentrated products within the semiconductor sector.
An official at a domestic asset management firm said, "If last year's ETF market saw both semiconductors/IT and indexes draw attention, the first half of this year shows a focus on semiconductors/IT as the sole top."
Experts projected that in the second half, earnings improvement will still center on corporations in the AI value chain.
Lim Eun-hye, a Samsung Securities analyst, said, "Based on economic strength and better earnings, confidence in 'AI exceptionalism' in the ETF market will strengthen further in the second half," adding, "Investment in the 'AI value chain,' which connects semiconductors, software and infrastructure, still needs to be maintained firmly."
Lim added, "As a diversified international order and hegemonic competition intensify, investment and interest will focus on energy security and the defense industry in the second half," noting, "From a policy momentum perspective, we should pay attention to key export corporations and seek investment opportunities using active ETFs that aim for excess return over the market."