If You Felt Uneasy Going All-In on Samsung and SK hynix... Bond Hybrid ETFs Flood the Market Amid 'Rollercoaster KOSPI'

After the 'Samsung Electronics and SK hynix' Launch in February, Differentiated ETFs Emerge
Currency Diversification by Including U.S. Treasury Bonds Instead of Korean Bonds
Products Expanding Beyond Semiconductors to Include Financial and Holdi

As market volatility has persisted for over a month, there has been a rally in the launch of "Bond Hybrid 50 Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)" that mix individual stocks—such as semiconductor shares—and bonds at a 50:50 ratio. Earlier this year, a flurry of similar products dubbed "Samjeon·Nix" emerged, but this time, companies are seeking greater differentiation for their offerings.

According to the financial investment industry on August 14, Mirae Asset Global Investments is planning to list a new ETF called "TIGER Samsung Electronics SK hynix US Bond Hybrid 50." This ETF will include 25% each of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, with the remaining 50% comprising "US short-term bonds." Existing Samjeon·Nix Bond Hybrid 50 products generally allocate most of their bond holdings to short-term Korean government bonds. By including US short-term bonds in addition to leading domestic semiconductor stocks, the product is expected to provide not only diversification across equities and fixed-income asset classes but also a balance between won- and dollar-denominated assets. Another advantage highlighted is that US treasury bonds typically offer higher interest yields than Korean government bonds.

Korea Investment Management is also preparing to list the "ACE Samsung Electronics SK hynix Plus Bond Hybrid 50." Since the securities registration statement has not taken effect yet, detailed information is unavailable. However, the addition of "Plus" to the product name suggests that it will incorporate a novel investment strategy compared to other ETFs in the same category.

The underlying asset composition is also diversifying beyond just Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Based on the performance of similar funds, VI Asset Management launched the "FOCUS Financial Semiconductor Holdings Bond Hybrid 50 Active" on August 11. It allocates up to 50% to financial, semiconductor, and holding companies, and the remaining 50% is invested in a basket of three near-month 3-year government bond futures. VI Asset Management stated, "Rather than concentrating on specific stocks like Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, this product is designed for diversified investment across key sectors—such as semiconductors, finance, and holding companies—that drive the domestic stock market." They emphasized that "flexibly adjusting sector and stock weights according to market conditions through active management" is a key differentiator. As of August 13, the top holdings included Samsung Electronics (9.39%), SK hynix (8.16%), Doosan (3.27%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (2.41%), and HD Hyundai (2.40%).

There is also a product combining SK hynix with SanDisk, a US company. Hanwha Asset Management launched the "PLUS SK hynix SanDisk Bond Hybrid 50" on August 4. By including two pillars of memory semiconductor "pure players," the non-memory business performance does not dilute memory business results, allowing improvements and results in the memory semiconductor sector to be directly reflected in stock prices. The bond portion, accounting for 50% of the portfolio, is composed of nine different Korean government bonds.

Since the launch of "RISE Samsung Electronics SK hynix Bond Hybrid 50" by KB Asset Management in February this year, more than 10 Bond Hybrid 50 ETFs have been introduced in succession, gaining significant popularity. Compared to investing in individual stocks, these ETFs offer risk diversification and can be included in retirement accounts without limitations on the portion of risky assets. In practice, after the KOSPI rose to the 9,300 level and peaked, Bond Hybrid 50 ETFs showed smaller declines than individual stocks. According to the Korea Exchange, from June 19 to August 12, Samsung Electronics fell 29.52%, SK hynix dropped 43.99%, but RISE Samsung Electronics SK hynix Bond Hybrid 50 declined only 18.85% during the same period.

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