Individual investors in the U.S. stock market are nearing $200 billion in holdings.
According to the Korea Securities Depository's securities information portal, Saveuro, as of September 21, domestic investors' U.S. stock holdings totaled $197.47874 billion (approximately 268.571 trillion won).
After reaching a record high of $204.16072 billion in May, U.S. stock holdings have been on a downward trend. They fell to $194.84793 billion in June and further decreased to $171.46580 billion in July, marking two consecutive months of decline.
However, in August, holdings rebounded to $188.36649 billion, and this month, they have increased again to $197.5 billion.
The rise in individual investors' U.S. stock holdings is attributed to a recovery in the U.S. stock market, particularly in technology stocks, fueled by optimism surrounding artificial intelligence (AI).
In fact, domestic investors net purchased $527.3 million (approximately 7.171 billion won) in the U.S. stock market from September 1 to 22.
The most purchased stock by individual investors during the past month (from September 1 to September 22) was the 'SGOV' (iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF), which invests in U.S. short-term treasury bonds with maturities of three months or less. This product serves as a 'parking' ETF for temporarily holding funds before making investment decisions, with a net purchase amount of $223.56 million (approximately 304.4 billion won).
Following that, the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF ($146.2 million), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF ($140.45 million), IonQ ($123.48 million), and Alphabet ($120.61 million) were also among the top purchases.
As expectations for AI and semiconductors recover, there is a growing interest in U.S. semiconductor leveraged products.
During the same period, individual investors bought $2.51384 billion (approximately 33.274 trillion won) of the 'SOXL' (Direxion Daily Semiconductors Bull 3X Shares ETF), which tracks the U.S. semiconductor index three times.
This purchase amount is the highest among all stocks.
Experts advise investors to consider geopolitical risks and the upcoming U.S. midterm elections on November 3 when constructing their portfolios.
Park Seung-jin, a researcher at Hana Securities, stated, "Given the concentration of various external political events, such as changes in the Middle East and geopolitical risks, the U.S.-China summit, and the UN General Assembly, it is essential to adjust options based on evaluations of volatility situations."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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