Shinhan Asset Management said its SOL AI Semiconductor TOP2 Plus exchange-traded fund (ETF) has surpassed 1 trillion won ($730 million) in assets under management, joining the ranks of mega ETFs.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on Tuesday, the SOL AI Semiconductor TOP2 Plus ETF's net assets exceeded 1 trillion won on the 4th of this month. The milestone came about 50 days after its listing on the 17th of last month, following an earlier record of surpassing 500 billion won in AUM within just one month. The pace of inflows then accelerated, with the fund reaching 1 trillion won in AUM about 10 days after crossing the 500 billion won mark.
Since the product's listing, cumulative net buying by retail investors has reached 541.4 billion won, ranking first among domestic semiconductor ETFs in retail net buying over the same period. Combined with inflows from institutional and pension accounts, the ETF has rapidly grown into an ultra-large fund, the company said.
SOL AI Semiconductor TOP2 Plus is designed to concentrate investments in Korean semiconductor large caps and their core value chain. Its major holdings include SK hynix (000660.KS) at 23.94 percent, Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) at 20.15 percent, Samsung Electro-Mechanics (009150.KS) at 18.75 percent, and SK Square (402340.KS) at 16.83 percent. The ETF also invests in Samsung Electro-Mechanics, which has secured growth momentum in substrates and multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) essential for the artificial intelligence (AI) era, and ISU Petasys (007660.KS), a leading player in multi-layer boards (MLB), offering broad exposure to the sector's leading industries.
In last month's regular rebalancing, the fund reflected recent industry trends not only in semiconductor large caps but also in the materials, parts, and equipment segment. Newly added LG Innotek (011070.KS) is rapidly expanding its presence in the semiconductor industry on the back of a full-fledged transformation in its semiconductor substrate business, while ISC (095340.KQ) has drawn attention as a key beneficiary in the AI semiconductor optical communications value chain, with expectations rising over co-packaged optics (CPO) test socket-related gains.
"Our stock selection strategy, based on in-depth research on the domestic semiconductor industry, has translated into performance differentiation, leading to continued large-scale inflows centered on retail investors," said Kim Jung-hyun, head of the ETF business group at Shinhan Asset Management. "We will continue to roll out products that can contribute to investors' wealth accumulation through timely product supply."
