"Is Now the Opportunity?" 7 Trillion Won Rushes In... Retail Investors Buy Despite Samsung and Hynix Leverage Declines

Retail Investors' Net Purchases Reach 6 Trillion Won

Over the past month, approximately 7 trillion won in funds have flowed into 16 types of leverage single-stock products (including inverse products) focused on Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

According to Korea Exchange and ETF CHECK on July 17, from June 16 to July 15, a total of 7.3364 trillion won in net funds were infused into 16 leverage and inverse single-stock products.

By product, "KODEX SK Hynix Leverage Single Stock ETF" attracted 3.4472 trillion won, making it the largest among all exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This was followed by "KODEX Samsung Electronics Leverage Single Stock ETF" with 1.5083 trillion won, and "TIGER SK Hynix Leverage Single Stock ETF" with 1.4271 trillion won in second and third place, respectively. "TIGER Samsung Electronics Leverage Single Stock ETF" saw a net inflow of 693.8 billion won. Funds continued to pour in despite declines in the share prices of the underlying assets, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. The two products with the largest net inflows—KODEX SK Hynix Leverage Single Stock ETF and KODEX Samsung Electronics Leverage Single Stock ETF—declined by 45.60% and 48.44%, respectively.

It appears that the majority of leverage funds originated from retail investors. Over one month, individual investors made net purchases totaling 4.2386 trillion won across seven SK hynix leverage single-stock products, and 1.6119 trillion won across seven Samsung Electronics leverage single-stock products. Foreign investors also net purchased 859.5 billion won and 724.2 billion won, respectively. Institutions, meanwhile, were net sellers at 5.1713 trillion won and 2.2671 trillion won, respectively.

Meanwhile, due to concerns that the concentration of funds in leverage single-stock products is increasing market volatility, financial authorities have introduced measures to tighten investment requirements. The basic deposit requirement will be raised from 10 million won to 30 million won. Starting in November, the trading unit will increase to 20 shares per transaction. For example, if the share price is 15,000 won and investors are required to buy in lots of 20, a minimum of 300,000 won will be needed. Additionally, the mandatory investor education time has increased from two hours to three hours. Until the market stabilizes, the listing of new leverage single-stock products will be temporarily suspended, and advertising and marketing for currently traded products will be prohibited. Should the strengthened deposit requirements reduce investment demand, the total market capitalization of leverage single-stock products, currently at around 12 trillion won, is expected to decrease to between 4 trillion won and 5 trillion won.

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