Investment in public equity funds is experiencing a significant 'money move.' Over the past month, more than 4 trillion won has flowed into public equity funds, including exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with over 90% of this capital directed towards 'overseas products.' Analysts attribute this trend to sluggish performance in the KOSPI index and major domestic companies, prompting a rapid shift of funds towards U.S. investment products.
According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, from August 4 to September 3, a net inflow of 4.4311 trillion won was recorded in public equity funds, including ETFs. During this period, the total assets under management reached 25.264 trillion won, while redemptions amounted to 20.8329 trillion won.
Notably, funds tracking major U.S. indices attracted significant investment. During this timeframe, overseas equity funds saw a net inflow of 4.2088 trillion won, accounting for approximately 95% of the total net inflow in public equity funds, including ETFs. In contrast, domestic funds only saw a net inflow of 222.3 billion won.
Excluding ETFs, the trend of capital movement becomes even clearer. In the past month, public equity funds experienced a net outflow of 45.3 billion won, with 104.6 billion won exiting domestic funds, while overseas funds saw a net inflow of 59.2 billion won.
This 'money move' marks a stark contrast to the previous month. In July, public equity funds, including ETFs, recorded a net inflow of 6.6724 trillion won for domestic funds, surpassing overseas funds by 2.2362 trillion won. However, the situation reversed in August, with domestic funds experiencing a net inflow of only 1.7434 trillion won, a 73.9% decrease from the previous month. Overseas funds also saw a decline to 3.5334 trillion won, but the drop was limited to 20.4%.
Market analysts suggest that ongoing volatility in the domestic stock market and semiconductor sector since July has contributed to this shift in investment. A comparison of market fluctuations from July 1 to September 4 shows a clear disparity: the KOSPI index fell by 19.47%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose by 1.79% and the S&P 500 increased by 3.14%.
In individual ETFs, the inflow of funds into U.S. index products has been particularly pronounced. According to ETF CHECK, as of September 4, the top four domestic listed equity ETFs by net inflow all tracked the U.S. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices.
The TIGER U.S. S&P 500 saw the highest net inflow at 995.1 billion won, followed by the TIGER U.S. Nasdaq 100 at 645 billion won, KODEX U.S. Nasdaq 100 at 561.1 billion won, and KODEX U.S. S&P 500 at 473.7 billion won. The total inflow into these four products reached 2.6749 trillion won.
In comparison, domestic stock-related products saw only modest inflows, with KODEX 200 Covered Call Active receiving 331.5 billion won and KODEX KOSPI attracting 312.9 billion won. The inflow into U.S. index products significantly outpaced that of domestic stock-related products.
A securities industry official noted, "Recent concentration of funds in products tracking major U.S. indices like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indicates a continued demand for investing in the U.S. stock market through domestic listed ETFs."
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.