Samsung Asset launches 1st Korea-listed ETF in US

Samsung Asset Management Co., South Korea’s largest exchange-traded fund (ETF) manager, has launched an ETF in the US, the first of its kind traded on the Korea Exchange, the company said on Thursday.

It listed the Amplify Samsung SOFR ETF through its US arm Amplify ETFs on the New York Stock Exchange on Nov. 15. SOFR is short for a secured overnight financing rate.

Samsung is the second-largest shareholder of Amplify ETFs after purchasing a 20% stake in the Illinois-based fund houset last year.

Samsung SOFR ETF is equivalent to the “KODEX US Dollar SOFR active fixed-income ETF,” listed on the Korea Exchange in March of this year.

The Korea-listed fund tracks the US Treasury-backed overnight repurchase agreement rates, deemed as a risk-free reference rate.

COMPOUND INTEREST

Samsung said that investors of the KODEX US Dollar SOFR active fixed-income ETF is able to earn compound interest of about 5.3% per annum without loss.

Within six months of its domestic launch, its net assets exceeded 300 billion won ($232 million) in value.

In the US, Samsung plans to launch a Bitcoin ETF that directly invests in the digital currency upon approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Earlier this year, it listed the Samsung Bitcoin Futures Active ETF in Hong Kong. It invests in front-month Chicago Mercantile Exchange Bitcoin Futures contracts.

Seo Bong-kyun, chief executive of Samsung Asset Management, said in a statement it would continue to list ETFs on global stock markets.

At a news conference last year, he noted the company would focus on global, active and fixed-income ETFs.

Write to Man-Su Choe at bebop@hankyung.com
 

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.