Investors in their 40s make up the largest share of those buying single-stock leverage exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KQ), data showed. The finding contrasts with the broader Korean stock market, where investors in their 50s and 60s typically dominate.
According to investment data from four brokerages — Korea Investment & Securities, Samsung Securities, KB Securities and NH Investment & Securities — covering 14 single-stock leverage ETFs (excluding inverse products), 70,850 investors poured 3.2755 trillion won into the products between Nov. 27 and Dec. 1. The average investment per person was about 46.23 million won.
By age group, investors in their 40s numbered 20,489, accounting for 28.9% of the total — the largest share. Their investment amounted to 1.0225 trillion won, or 31.2% of the total. Investors in their 50s came in at a nearly identical 28.7% by number, while those in their 30s held a relatively high 22.2% share. Investors in their 60s accounted for 11.5%, and those in their 20s for 6.5%. Investors aged 40 or younger thus made up about 60% of the total.
The pattern differs from the structure of Korea's overall stock market. According to the Korea Securities Depository, individual shareholders of listed companies as of the end of last year were most heavily concentrated in the 50s age group at 23.1%, followed by those in their 40s at 21.8%. By number of shares held, the share of investors in their 40s stood at just 18.6%. Average investment per person, however, was higher among older investors, at 64 million won for those aged 70 or above, 51 million won for those in their 60s and around 50 million won for those in their 40s.
Industry watchers attribute the trend to the fact that single-stock leverage ETFs offer both high volatility and high return potential, drawing investors with a relatively higher risk appetite. To invest in single-stock leverage ETFs, investors must complete additional advanced training on top of the existing prior education requirement. As of Oct. 31, 380,000 people had applied for the training, of whom about 350,000 had completed it.
The single-stock leverage ETFs tracking Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, launched on Nov. 27, had combined net assets of about 6 trillion won as of Dec. 1. Trading value reached 10.418 trillion won on the first day, declined thereafter, then rebounded to 9.0535 trillion won on Dec. 1.
