Over the past year, the domestic exchange-traded fund (ETF) market has seen significant inflows into U.S. index ETFs and AI and semiconductor ETFs, driving market growth. Long-term investment demand has concentrated on U.S. index ETFs, while funds reflecting expectations for expanded AI investment have focused on semiconductor-themed ETFs, forming the two main pillars of the ETF market.
According to asset management industry sources and ETF CHECK, the top inflow over the past year was the TIGER U.S. S&P 500 ETF, which attracted 849.32 billion won. It was followed by the SOL AI Semiconductor TOP2 Plus ETF with 647.21 billion won, KODEX SK Hynix Single Stock Leverage ETF with 516.39 billion won, KODEX U.S. Nasdaq 100 ETF with 479.89 billion won, TIGER Semiconductor TOP 10 ETF with 470.13 billion won, and KODEX 200 ETF with 446.08 billion won. The KODEX KOSDAQ 150 ETF (422.77 billion won), TIGER U.S. Nasdaq 100 ETF (399.30 billion won), and KODEX U.S. S&P 500 ETF (372.96 billion won) also ranked high in net inflows. Both U.S. index ETFs and AI and semiconductor ETFs have evenly occupied the top spots in net inflows, indicating their leading role in recent ETF market demand.
U.S. index ETFs have consistently absorbed long-term funds from pensions, retirement accounts, and systematic investments, serving as a foundation for the market. In contrast, AI and semiconductor ETFs have attracted large amounts of capital in a short period, driven by expectations for AI investment growth and improvements in the semiconductor industry.
The assets under management (AUM) of major index ETFs have also rapidly expanded. The total AUM of four major index ETFs—KODEX 200, KODEX U.S. S&P 500, TIGER U.S. S&P 500, and TIGER U.S. Nasdaq 100—rose from 26.437 trillion won on July 31 last year to 70.6159 trillion won as of June 30 this year. This represents an increase of 44.5722 trillion won, nearly 2.7 times the previous amount over 11 months.
Among these products, KODEX 200 saw the largest increase, with its AUM rising from 7.023 trillion won to 28.8249 trillion won, a 311.6% increase. TIGER U.S. S&P 500 grew from 8.7678 trillion won to 20.3326 trillion won, a 131.9% increase, while TIGER U.S. Nasdaq 100 rose from 5.4301 trillion won to 11.8752 trillion won, an increase of 118.7%. KODEX U.S. S&P 500 also increased from 4.8436 trillion won to 9.8832 trillion won, a 104.0% rise.
The increase in AUM for major index ETFs reflects not only new capital inflows but also capital gains from rising domestic and international stock markets. Nevertheless, the presence of multiple U.S. index ETFs among the top net inflows over the past year suggests a steady influx of long-term investment funds supporting the expansion of AUM. The AI and semiconductor ETFs have concentrated investment demand reflecting expectations for growth in the AI industry, having absorbed large amounts of capital in a short time.
Seol Tae-hyun, a researcher at DB Financial Investment, stated, "The global semiconductor ETF market has shown accelerated cumulative inflows despite stock price adjustments. Following Alphabet's earnings announcement, the market is evaluating not only the earnings surprise but also guidance on AI capital expenditures, return on investment, and free cash flow. However, the steady flow of funds indicates ongoing market confidence in semiconductors."
He added, "Domestic AI semiconductor-themed ETFs are also seeing continued inflows, particularly in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and K-semiconductor materials, which had previously experienced significant declines, showing signs of rebound expectations."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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