Korea Investment Management's ACE KRX Gold Spot ETF Surpasses 200 Billion Won in Individual Net Purchases Year-to-Date

As stock market volatility increases, investment demand for gold—a traditional safe-haven asset—is rising, driving large inflows into related products. The ACE KRX Gold Spot ETF, Korea’s first gold spot exchange-traded fund (ETF), recorded consecutive net buying sessions throughout this month, with individual investors’ net purchases since the beginning of the year surpassing 200 billion won.

On August 25, Korea Investment Management announced that the cumulative net purchases by individual investors in the ACE KRX Gold Spot ETF since the beginning of the year had reached 211.6 billion won as of the closing price on August 24.

During the month of August alone, over 65.5 billion won in individual funds flowed in. Individual investors have continued a net buying streak on every single trading day in August (15 trading days), without exception. Cumulative net purchases by individual investors over the past year have reached 1.0356 trillion won, showing a sharp annual uptrend in fund inflows. As of August 24, the ACE KRX Gold Spot ETF saw a total inflow of 693.5 billion won since the start of the year—the highest among all 28 domestic commodity ETFs listed in Korea.

This influx of funds can be attributed to pronounced risk aversion and a preference for safe-haven assets amid global geopolitical risks and waning expectations of interest rate hikes. Buoyed by rising prices for gold on the KRX, the ACE KRX Gold Spot ETF has achieved a 12.76% return since early August, and its cumulative return since listing stands at 191.45%.

The ACE KRX Gold Spot ETF, launched by Korea Investment Management in December 2021, tracks the ‘KRX Gold Spot Index’ as compiled and published by Korea Exchange. As of August 24, its net asset value stands at 4.2712 trillion won, making it the largest among all domestic commodity ETFs.

Nam Yongsoo, Head of the ETF Division at Korea Investment Management, stated, “As volatility in equity assets on the market has increased recently, more individual investors are looking to add gold spot ETFs to their portfolios. In particular, unlike exchange-traded futures, gold spot ETFs do not incur ‘roll-over costs’ from contract expiration, making them cost-effective for long-term holding.”

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