Samsung Asset says to pursue global, active, bond-type ETFs

Samsung Asset Management Co., South Korea’s largest exchange-traded fund (ETF) manager, will focus on global, active and bond-type ETFs, as well as those for asset diversification, its chief executive said on Monday.

The asset management company introduced ETFs to Korea in 2002 and now commands some 43% of the market, worth 76 trillion won ($53 billion).

An ETF is an index fund that tracks a basket of stocks and trades on the stock market.

In a news conference to mark the 20th anniversary of its ETF brand Kodex, Samsung Asset CEO Seo Bong-kyun suggested four keywords – global, active, bond type and asset allocation – to pursue over the next 20 years.

To that end, its new ETFs will cover a broader range of the investment market, attracting first-time home buyers and those saving for children’s school expenses and retirement, said Choi Chang-gyu, the head of Samsung’s ETF consulting division.

In addition, it will unveil different types of ETFs such as target date funds and target retirement funds to further diversify its clients’ portfolios.

Korea’s ETF market is expected to grow fourfold to 300 trillion won ($210 billion) over the next 10 years, CEO Seo added.

Samsung Asset, with 32.8 trillion won in ETFs under management, recently changed its Kodex brand logo from white capital letters on a red background to black lowercase letters on a white background with a blue symbol to create a younger, more flexible image.

Write to Sang-Hoon Sung at uphoon@hankyung.com
Edited by Yeonhee Kim