KB Asset Management's RISE Berkshire Portfolio Top 10 ETF draws attention for defensive strength

As South Korea's stock market experiences sharp volatility — particularly in the semiconductor sector — KB Asset Management's RISE Berkshire Portfolio Top 10 ETF is drawing attention as a long-term diversified investment product with notable defensive strength.

The ETF invests in Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), the conglomerate led by Warren Buffett, along with the top 10 holdings disclosed in Berkshire Hathaway's 13F portfolio filings with the SEC.

As of Tuesday, the ETF posted returns of 4.74 percent, 7.03 percent and 24.30 percent over the past three months, six months and one year, respectively. While the Kospi and Kosdaq fell 22.19 percent and 21.44 percent, respectively, throughout July, the RISE Berkshire Portfolio Top 10 ETF declined just 2.88 percent over the same period — outperforming even the Nasdaq Composite, which dropped 3.20 percent.

The ETF's volatility was also significantly lower than that of the Kospi and Kosdaq. Based on daily closing price and benchmark data over the past year, its annualized volatility came in at 15.6 percent — well below the Kospi's 52.5 percent and the Kosdaq's 46.9 percent, and also lower than the Nasdaq Composite's 18.9 percent. The figure is comparable to the S&P 500's 13.2 percent.

The ETF is built around leading US companies including Apple, Alphabet, American Express, Bank of America, Coca-Cola and Chevron, spreading investment across financials, consumer staples, IT and energy.

Its underlying benchmark, the Solactive Berkshire Portfolio Top 10 Index, uses a rules-based methodology that regularly incorporates and adjusts holdings based on Berkshire Hathaway's publicly disclosed 13F filings — even following Buffett's official retirement.

"More investors are looking for assets they can consistently hold over the long term, rather than focusing on short-term market swings," said Yuk Dong-hwi, head of KB Asset Management's ETF product marketing division. "The RISE Berkshire Portfolio Top 10 ETF, which invests across Berkshire Hathaway and leading global companies, is an efficient investment product that can serve as the foundation of a long-term portfolio, including for pension accounts."

KB Asset Management has also overhauled its gold investment product, the KB Star Gold Fund, shifting it to an ETF-centered structure. The fund previously held a high proportion of gold-related derivatives, making it difficult to include in retirement pension accounts. The restructuring, which now uses domestic and overseas gold ETFs, has made the fund eligible for such accounts.