South Korea Individual Stock Leveraged ETFs See Valuation Losses Exceeding 8.8 Trillion Won Over Nine Days

Odaily Planet Daily News – South Korea's domestic stock market has experienced significant volatility over the past nine trading days, with leveraged ETFs focused on individual stocks—popular among retail investors—accumulating valuation losses exceeding 8.8 trillion won. According to data released on the 15th by FnGuide Quantwise and Mirae Asset Securities, four leveraged ETFs tracking Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, issued by Mirae Asset Global Investments and Samsung Asset Management, recorded cumulative valuation losses of 8.8337 trillion won between July 1 and July 13. During the same period, the assets under management (AUM) of these ETFs shrank by 37.7%, dropping from 14.3518 trillion won to 8.9389 trillion won. Across all 14 leveraged ETFs listed in South Korea that track Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the AUM also declined by 41.4% during the same period, falling from 15.9349 trillion won at the end of June to 9.3386 trillion won as of July 13. Specifically, the AUM of Samsung Electronics leveraged ETFs decreased by 35.3%, while SK Hynix leveraged ETFs saw a reduction of 44.9%. Data from the Korea Capital Market Institute shows that as of June 19, individual investors had cumulatively net purchased 8.2 trillion won worth of single-stock leveraged ETFs, accounting for approximately 60% of the AUM of related ETFs. This suggests that a significant portion of the recent losses may have been borne by individual investors. (Jin Shi)