"DS KOSDAQ Active" Achieves 12 Billion Won in Sales on First Trading Day... Outperforms Index in Returns

Diverse Investor Groups Participate, Including Individuals, Investment Trusts, and Insurance Companies

Portfolio Focused on AI Semiconductor Materials, Parts, and Equipment

3.49% Return on Debut Day, Outperforming Despite Market Decline

DS Asset Management announced on the 15th that its first ETF, "DS KOSDAQ Active," which was listed on the 14th, achieved approximately 12 billion won in sales on its first day of trading.

The sales amount was distributed among various investor groups: individuals contributed 2.3 billion won, investment trusts 5.1 billion won, insurance companies 2 billion won, and estimated retirement pension sales (about 2.3 billion won, based on calculations with LP companies). This indicates balanced participation across various investor categories.

DS KOSDAQ Active is a product that focuses on leading stocks in the KOSDAQ market. Rather than attempting to predict short-term market movements, the ETF selects companies with high growth potential based on fundamental analysis, aiming for outperformance relative to its benchmark, the KOSDAQ Index.

As of the listing date, the portfolio was built around the "memory expansion cycle" as its core investment theme. With increasing investment in memory semiconductor expansion fueled by growing AI demand, the ETF anticipated that equipment, parts, and materials companies would benefit. As a result, companies specializing in AI semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment (commonly referred to as "SobuJang") accounted for about 96% of the portfolio. On the first trading day, the DS KOSDAQ Active ETF recorded a return of 3.49%, outperforming the KOSDAQ 150 Index, which posted -2.83% on the same day.

The top holdings included companies specializing in front-end process and HBM process core equipment, such as PSK, TES, PSK Holdings, and VM. In addition, the ETF comprises a total of 29 stocks covering the entire expansion value chain, including components and parts, materials and specialty gases, testing, substrates, and packaging. Bio and healthcare companies make up about 4% of the portfolio.

Notably, out of the 29 stocks included in the portfolio, 13 (about 33%) are not members of the KOSDAQ 150 Index. A DS Asset Management representative explained, "This portfolio composition demonstrates the active ETF's characteristic of selecting investment targets based on company fundamentals and growth potential, rather than on whether the company is included in the index."

Kim Sunghoon, CEO of DS Asset Management, stated, "The enthusiastic interest from investors on the very first trading day reflects expectations for DS Asset Management's investment philosophy of focusing on company growth analysis. We will not be swayed by daily returns, but will continue to identify stocks through research-driven analysis and maintain active management, proving the competitiveness of a 'genuine active ETF.'"

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