Samsung Asset Management has launched four new Korean equity ETFs on Korea Exchange.
The funds provide large-cap, broad market, ESG-screened, and multi-factor exposure to Korean equities.
Marketed under the firm’s KODEX brand, the ETFs offer large-cap, broad market, ESG-screened, and multi-factor exposures.
Large-cap
The Samsung KODEX KOSPI LargeCap ETF (337140 KS) tracks the KOSPI LargeCap Index. The index consists of the 100 largest common stocks listed on Korea Exchange weighted by float-adjusted market capitalization.
The fund comes with an expense ratio of 0.15%.
Broad Market
The Samsung KODEX 200exTOP ETF (337150 KS) tracks the KOSPI 200 Ex-TOP Index. The index is essentially the KOSPI 200 Index, which consists of the 200 largest common stocks listed on Korea Exchange, with stocks exceeding 10% excluded.
In practice, the methodology removes only Samsung Electronics which holds a weight of around 30% in the KOSPI 200. The remaining constituents are weighted by float-adjusted market cap.
As a consequence of the Samsung exclusion, the resultant index has materially reduced exposure to the information technology sector (13% vs. 40%). Its largest constituents are SK Hynix (8.1%), NAVER (3.9%), Shinhan (3.2%), Celltrion (3.2%), and Hyundai (3.1%).
The fund comes with an expense ratio of 0.30%.
ESG-screened
The Samsung KODEX 200ESG ETF (337160 KS) tracks the KOSPI 200 ESG Index which consists of the 100 stocks from the KOSPI 200 universe with the highest ESG quality scores as determined by Korea Corporate Governance Service.
The fund comes with an expense ratio of 0.30%.
Multi-factor
The Samsung KODEX FN Multi Factor ETF (337120 KS) tracks the FnGuide Multi-Factor Index. The index uses a multi-factor methodology to screen all stocks listed on Korea Exchange with market capitalizations greater than 30 billion won.
The index comprises 250 securities, consisting of the 100 securities with the largest market caps and, from the remaining selection pool, the 150 stocks with the highest multi-factor scores based on quality, value, size, and momentum.
The fund comes with an expense ratio of 0.30%.
Samsung Asset Management is based in Hong Kong and is an affiliate of Seoul-headquartered Samsung Group.