Samsung Asset Management said Tuesday that net assets of its KODEX 200 Target Weekly Covered Call exchange-traded fund (ETF) have surpassed 5 trillion won ($3.6 billion).
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX), the ETF's net assets stood at 5.24 trillion won as of the previous day. More than 1 trillion won has flowed in over about a month since net assets topped 4 trillion won last month.
Since its listing in December 2024, the KODEX 200 Target Weekly Covered Call has recorded cumulative net purchases of 2.8 trillion won from individual investors in about a year and six months. Individual investor inflows since the start of this year have reached 1.4 trillion won, ranking fifth among all ETFs in individual net purchases.
The product's popularity is attributed to its high distribution rate of around 17% annually. The ETF uses the KOSPI 200 index as its underlying asset and seeks annual option premium income of approximately 15% through weekly call option sales. Combined with a dividend yield of about 2% from investments in KOSPI 200 constituents, the fund has built a monthly distribution structure yielding about 17% annually. The average monthly distribution rate is around 1.42%.
Option premium income is tax-exempt when distributed and is not subject to the comprehensive financial income tax, drawing interest from investors seeking tax efficiency, the company said.
Another notable feature is the fund's enhanced participation in rising markets. On October 6, when the KOSPI 200 surged 7.62% in a single day, the ETF gained 6.46%, capturing about 85% of the index's rise. This reflects the "target covered call" strategy, which was adopted to overcome the limitation of conventional covered call ETFs that offer limited upside participation in rising markets. As a result, the fund's year-to-date return stood at 75.9%.
"Since the listing, individual investor funds have continuously flowed in, making it the largest covered call ETF in Korea," Samsung Asset Management manager Lee Dae-hwan said. "Even amid recent sharp market volatility, investor interest in the KODEX 200 Target Weekly Covered Call continues, as it delivers stable cash flow through monthly distributions while also actively participating in stock price gains."
