Investors in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to semiconductor stocks earned returns roughly 330 times higher than fixed deposit investors in the first half of this year. The gap is attributed to the steep gains of large-cap chip stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, buoyed by the semiconductor boom.
According to the Korea Exchange's information data system, three of the five top-performing ETFs in the first half of this year (January 2 to June 19) were funds holding semiconductor stocks. "TIGER 200IT Leverage" posted the highest gain at 893.13%, followed by "KODEX Semiconductor Leverage" (558.58%) and "TIGER Semiconductor TOP10 Leverage" (423.67%). Compared with the 2.7% average rate on one-year fixed deposits offered by commercial banks, including regional and internet banks (based on 36 products with simple interest), the returns differ by about 157 times to as much as 330 times.
The overwhelming gains of semiconductor-focused ETFs stem from the high stock price increases of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. The two companies surged 195% and 325%, respectively, from the start of this year through June 19. With expectations for a memory semiconductor super cycle remaining high, the securities industry assesses that there is ample room for further share price gains. Park Jun-young, a researcher at Hanwha Investment & Securities, explained that "earnings volatility, which had been cited as a weakness of the memory sector in the past, has been greatly reduced due to the expansion of the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) business and the increase in long-term agreements (LTA)."
In addition, as the KOSPI repeatedly set record highs in the first half, the returns of ETFs that track the daily returns of the KOSPI 200 index at two times the positive direction also overwhelmed fixed deposits. During this period, "ACE Leverage" recorded a return of 393.47%, more than 145 times that of fixed deposits. The KOSPI's first-half gain reached 115%, ranking first among major countries' index increases.
