Hanwha Asset Management said Tuesday that its PLUS Global HBM Semiconductor exchange-traded fund (ETF) has surpassed 400 billion won ($280 million) in net assets, driven by surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors.
According to the Korea Exchange, the PLUS Global HBM Semiconductor ETF recorded net assets of 414 billion won as of the 17th of this month. Net inflows from retail investors have reached 106.3 billion won this year, supporting the fund's growth.
The ETF's performance has also stood out. Its one-year return of 374.9% is the highest among domestically listed ETFs, excluding leveraged and inverse products.
The product is structured to concentrate 75% to 80% of its investment in the three global memory chip giants — Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), SK hynix (000660.KS) and Micron — which lead the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, a core component of AI infrastructure. The fund is designed to maximize gains from the memory semiconductor upcycle by raising the weighting of a small number of key companies.
Demand for DRAM and NAND flash, including HBM, has surged recently as global Big Tech firms continue to expand data center investments. As a result, memory prices are rising rapidly and supply shortages are intensifying, with analysts assessing that the industry has entered a full-fledged super cycle.
In particular, Big Tech companies are signing long-term agreements (LTAs) and even discussing ways to guarantee minimum prices to secure volumes, forming a supplier-dominated market, according to analysts.
The improving industry conditions are also being reflected in the earnings of major companies. Samsung Electronics posted preliminary operating profit of 57.2 trillion won in the first quarter of this year, and some forecasts suggest its annual operating profit could exceed 300 trillion won. SK hynix's first-quarter operating profit, set to be announced this week, is also expected to top 40 trillion won, raising earnings expectations.
"With the expansion of AI infrastructure, the memory semiconductor market, including HBM, is growing structurally," said Keum Jung-sub, head of the ETF business division at Hanwha Asset Management. "In particular, since the memory market is an oligopoly dominated by three companies, the PLUS Global HBM Semiconductor ETF, which concentrates more than 75% of its investment in these firms, is the optimal investment solution to most effectively benefit from the current semiconductor rally."
