ETF (exchange-traded fund) investors are playing it safe on one side while betting aggressively on the other. Over the past month, trillions of won in idle funds have poured into parking-type ETFs, while net assets for AI and semiconductor ETFs have surged by hundreds of billions of won each. This marks a simultaneous appearance of 'risk-off' (avoidance of risky assets) and 'risk-on' (preference for risky assets) within the same market.
According to an ETF check on the 23rd, the ETF with the largest increase in net assets over the past month was KODEX Money Market Active, which grew by 1.3985 trillion won. Money Market Active products are representative parking-type ETFs.
Parking-type ETFs are designed to manage short-term funds like bank deposits. They are primarily sought by investors looking to temporarily park funds they have not yet allocated to a specific investment destination. These products typically invest in bonds or short-term financial instruments, aiming for relatively stable returns. A key feature is that interest accrues even if the funds are deposited for just one day.
In addition to Money Market Active, short-term bond ETFs, CD Rate Active ETFs, and KOFR Rate Active ETFs are also classified as parking-type products.
Aside from KODEX Money Market Active, KODEX CD Rate Active (Synthetic) saw 366.6 billion won in inflows, ACE Money Market Active received 318.8 billion won, and TIGER CD 1-Year Rate Active (Synthetic) attracted 231.2 billion won during the same period. Furthermore, net assets exceeding 200 billion won flowed into bond-comprehensive ETFs such as RISE Comprehensive Bond (A- or higher) Active and KODEX Comprehensive Bond (AA- or higher) Active.
Amid lingering aftershocks of increased volatility following the launch of single-stock leverage ETFs, rising uncertainty in the stock market due to sharp fluctuations in U.S. Treasury yields, rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), and an ongoing war between the United States and Iran appears to have driven this ETF investment trend.
At the same time, it is notable that net assets for active-type ETFs such as TIGER Semiconductor TOP10 (370.5 billion won), KODEX AI Power Core Infrastructure (369.3 billion won), and KODEX Semiconductor (261 billion won) increased significantly during the same period. Among ETF products with substantial capital inflows, active-type products focusing on AI and semiconductor sectors as core themes are almost the only ones.
Analysts suggest that while it is difficult to be certain when the overall stock market will rise or when volatility will subside, investor sentiment reflects a bet on the medium-to-long-term growth potential of AI and semiconductor stocks.
In fact, over the past month, Samsung Electronics was the spot stock most heavily net-purchased by domestic retail investors, with net purchases totaling approximately 1.4 trillion won. Second place went to SK Hynix with about 500 billion won in net purchases, followed closely by Samsung Electro-Mechanics, a related stock of Samsung Electronics, which saw net purchases of around 190 billion won. In the financial investment sector's net purchase data reflecting retail ETF buying trends, Samsung Electronics also ranked first with approximately 4 trillion won in net purchases during the same period.
The securities industry analyzes that this trend differs somewhat from past ETF investment patterns. Previously, when expectations for stock market gains grew, funds moved broadly into index-tracking products, and when anxiety increased, capital shifted toward safe assets like cash.
Recently, however, funds seeking to avoid volatility are flowing into a variety of newly launched parking-type products, while capital willing to take risks is rapidly narrowing its focus from the entire market to leading sectors such as AI and semiconductors.
An official in the financial investment industry stated, "The recent flow of funds in the ETF market appears to be gradually moving away from the traditional distinction between risky assets and safe assets." He added, "The simultaneous movement of capital into parking-type products and AI/semiconductor ETFs signifies that investors' defensive and aggressive sentiments currently coexist."
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