Ants Prefer 'Metaverse' Over Electric Cars

KODEX K-Metaverse
Most Purchased ETF in the Last 20 Trading Days

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Investment enthusiasm for the promising theme of 'Metaverse' is rising this year. Recently, the inflow of funds into ETFs investing in the metaverse has been stronger than that into ETFs investing in the Chinese electric vehicle market, which had been the 'one pick' for domestic investors.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 8th, the ETF most purchased by individual investors over the past 20 trading days was 'KODEX K-Metaverse,' with purchases totaling 102.8 billion KRW. Following that, 'TIGER Fn Metaverse' was the second most bought with net purchases of 100.8 billion KRW. The 'TIGER China Electric Vehicle SOLACTIVE' ETF, which had firmly held the top spot for net purchases by individual investors, ranked third with 67.5 billion KRW. Other metaverse ETFs, 'KBSTAR iSelect Metaverse' and 'HANARO Fn K-Metaverse MZ,' were also purchased with 5.7 billion KRW and 3.2 billion KRW respectively.

The metaverse refers to a three-dimensional virtual world where economic and cultural activities similar to those in the real world take place. Since four asset management companies (Mirae Asset Global Investments, Samsung Asset Management, KB Asset Management, NH-Amundi Asset Management) launched related ETFs using stocks listed on the domestic stock market on the 13th of last month, investor interest has been high. These four related ETFs have attracted over 200 billion KRW in funds in less than a month since their listing.

Jeon Gyu-yeon, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, explained, "The market size of the metaverse industry, currently estimated at around 148 billion USD, is expected to grow more than tenfold by 2030. Considering the significant stock price increases of platform companies such as FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google), the growth expectations for the metaverse industry are likely to lead to steady capital inflows from investors."

High returns have also played a role in attracting attention. Since listing, KODEX K-Metaverse has posted a 24% return, followed by TIGER Fn Metaverse (21%), KBSTAR iSelect Metaverse (15%), and HANARO Fn K-Metaverse MZ (11%), all showing favorable returns. Investors who purchased these ETFs on their listing day could have earned over 10% returns. In these ETFs, companies related to gaming, entertainment, and media content accounted for 70-80% of the portfolio, and expectations for digital assets and metaverse expansion have driven the rise in sector indices, boosting returns.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.