Samsung Active Asset Management has launched the "Samsung Active KOSDAQ FOCUS Fund," which invests in core growth stocks on the KOSDAQ, the company said on the 6th.
The fund is a public offering fund that selects promising companies in the KOSDAQ market and is managed under an active strategy.
The fund is based on a management strategy similar to that of the "KoAct KOSDAQ Active Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF)," which was listed in March this year. Since its listing, the KoAct KOSDAQ Active ETF has grown to 640.4 billion won ($460 million) in net retail purchases and 924.8 billion won ($665 million) in net assets. On its first trading day alone, retail net buying reached 296.8 billion won ($213 million), drawing market attention.
Samsung Active Asset Management views the KOSDAQ not merely as a small- and mid-cap market but as a collection of Korea's core growth industries. The firm plans to build an investment universe of approximately 800 companies out of roughly 1,600 KOSDAQ-listed firms, focusing on identifying growth companies with global competitiveness.
The Samsung Active KOSDAQ FOCUS Fund utilizes a strategy similar to the ETF, but as a public offering fund, it allows for a more diversified portfolio composition. By expanding the number of holdings compared with the ETF, the fund aims to pursue a more stable diversification effect, the company explained.
The government's recent policies to revitalize the KOSDAQ market and rising expectations for expanded small- and mid-cap investment are also cited as favorable factors. Samsung Active Asset Management projects that interest in KOSDAQ funds with systematic research capabilities will grow as the potential for large-scale capital inflows increases.
Management is overseen by Kim Ji-woon, head of the second management division at Samsung Active Asset Management. A dedicated task force (TF) composed of senior analysts from the research center and active ETF managers will also participate.
"KOSDAQ is a dynamic market where all the world's changes — including demographic shifts, the energy transition, and AI innovation — are reflected first," Kim Ji-woon, head of the second management division at Samsung Active Asset Management, said. "Following the large-cap rally that began in earnest last year, the upward momentum is likely to spread to small- and mid-cap stocks, and the sale of the National Growth Fund is also expected to sustain a positive flow in the KOSDAQ small- and mid-cap market."
