Kiwoom Securities to Newly List "Kiwoom Venture Capital Startup Investment ETN"

Indirect Investment in Unlisted Companies for Individual Investors

Higher Volatility Compared to General Investments, Caution Advised

Kiwoom Securities announced on the 20th that it will newly list the "Kiwoom Venture Capital Startup Investment ETN."

This product is an Exchange Traded Note (ETN) designed to track the movement of a base index, focusing on startup investment companies and venture capital (VC) firms listed on the domestic stock market. It enables general investors to indirectly invest in the growth of the venture investment ecosystem through market trading.

The base index is the "FnGuide Venture Capital Startup Investment Index (Total Return)" calculated by FnGuide. It consists of the top 10 startup investment and venture capital companies listed on the KOSDAQ market by market capitalization. As of July 10, the major constituents include Woori Technology Investment, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, STIC Investments, AJU IB Investment, and DSC Investment. The constituents and weights may change in the future. Since it tracks a Total Return (TR) index, dividends from constituent stocks are not separately distributed but are reinvested within the index.

Venture capital invests in unlisted startups in innovative fields and generates returns through processes such as corporate growth, listings, and acquisitions. As it is not easy for individual investors to directly invest in unlisted companies, this product allows investors to indirectly participate in the growth of unlisted innovative companies via venture capital firms that are listed on the market.

Kiwoom Securities will directly provide liquidity, planning to maintain the bid-ask spread (the difference between buy and sell quotes) within 1%. Investors can trade freely on the Korea Exchange’s stock market just like general stocks. The total fee is 0.60% per year.

However, ETN investments may result in a loss of principal due to declines in the base index or the credit risk of the issuer. Especially, because this product is structured to concentrate investments in ten startup investment sector stocks, it may be more volatile than general equity products. The venture capital sector is also highly sensitive to changes in the venture investment market environment, exit market conditions such as IPOs, and macro factors like interest rates.

A representative from Kiwoom Securities said, "As the government expands its policy to provide venture capital and the venture investment market shows signs of recovery, investor interest in the venture capital sector is increasing," adding, "We hope that the Kiwoom Venture Capital Startup Investment ETN will become an effective tool for broadly investing in the entire venture investment ecosystem through the domestic stock market."

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