'ACE U.S. Dividend Dow Jones' ETF Surpasses KRW 1 Trillion in Net Assets

First listed in 2021 as the "Korean version of SCHD"
KRW 232 billion in inflows over the past year
Cumulative net purchases by individual investors of KRW 107.3 billion since the start of the year

Korea Investment Management said on November 2 that the net assets of its ACE US Dividend Dow Jones exchange-traded fund (ETF) had surpassed KRW 1 trillion.

According to the Korea Exchange, the ETF's net assets totaled KRW 1.0066 trillion at the close of trading on October 30. Cumulative net purchases by individual investors since the start of the year stood at KRW 107.3 billion, with buying continuing since September on all but four days.

Strong performance has been cited as a key driver of the ETF's growth. Its three-year return was 57.33%, the highest among passive ETFs of the same type (those tracking the same underlying index) launched in Korea. Its returns over the past six months and one year were 2.93% and 24.90%, respectively.

The ACE US Dividend Dow Jones ETF tracks the same index as the Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD), a leading U.S. dividend-growth ETF: the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Price Return Index. Launched in Korea in October 2021 by Korea Investment Management, it was the first "Korean version of SCHD." The index selects 100 U.S.-listed companies with strong fundamentals that have paid dividends for at least 10 years and weights them by market capitalization. The ETF makes monthly distributions.

The ETF is also price-competitive, with an annual total expense ratio of around 0.01%. That is just one-sixth of the 0.06% expense ratio charged by SCHD, which is listed in the United States and tracks the same index. Korean investors can trade the ETF conveniently in won without the hassle of exchanging foreign currency, while also benefiting from lower costs than with SCHD.

"As demand for investments focused on dividends and cash flow grows, interest is also increasing in high-dividend companies that have consistently paid dividends for at least 10 years, based on financial indicators such as ROE, debt ratios and cash flow," said Nam Yong-soo, head of the ETF Division at Korea Investment Management. "The ACE US Dividend Dow Jones ETF is a U.S. dividend-stock investment strategy suited to investors seeking stable cash flow over the medium to long term."

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