Samsung Asset Management announced Monday that its ETF and fund platform FunETF is expanding into a global investment platform covering US-listed ETFs as well as domestic ones. The move comes as rapid growth in South Korea's ETF market has accelerated mainstream adoption of ETF investing, driving a sharp rise in demand for global investment information.
FunETF has introduced a new service for searching and comparing ETFs listed on US exchanges. Through a single FunETF app, investors can access detailed information on more than 1,140 domestically listed ETFs as well as over 5,500 US-listed ETFs. The platform's "ETF Comparison" feature lets users analyze up to five Korean and US ETFs side by side on a single screen.
A key addition is the "US ETF Themes" service. Updated daily, it gives users an at-a-glance overview of US ETF market trends and lets them quickly identify the most-watched themes and related ETFs from the New York market on Sunday night.
To mark the launch, Samsung Asset Management is running a customer event through Aug. 31. New FunETF members who add three or more US-listed ETFs to their watchlist will be automatically entered. All participants will receive a coffee coupon, and five winners selected by draw will each receive a Korean Air gift card worth 300,000 won ($204).
"We revamped the FunETF service in line with the growing demand for global ETF investment information," a Samsung Asset Management official said. "By launching the US ETF service, we aim to broaden our base of global investors, and we will continue to proactively identify members' investment needs and further enhance the FunETF platform going forward."
Samsung Asset Management has been rolling out a range of new ETF products. On July 14, it launched KODEX 200 Covered Call Active, a fund that concentrates on leading domestic industries and key companies while pursuing stable monthly distributions and excess returns through an options-selling strategy. The product drew more than 200 billion won in individual net purchases within a week of its listing.
yuni@heraldcorp.com
