Kiwoom Securities lists new ETN focused on venture capital firms

Kiwoom Securities announced Thursday it will list a new exchange-traded note on the Korea Exchange's KOSPI market — the Kiwoom Venture Capital Startup Investment ETN.

The product tracks an underlying index and concentrates its holdings in domestic startup investment companies and venture capital firms listed on Korean exchanges. It is structured to allow retail investors to gain indirect exposure to the growth of the venture investment ecosystem through the exchange.

The underlying index is the FnGuide Venture Capital Startup Investment Index (Total Return), calculated by FnGuide. It comprises the top 10 Kosdaq-listed startup investment and venture capital firms by market capitalization.

As of July 10, the index's major constituents include Woori Technology Investment, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Stic Investments, AJU IB Investment and DSC Investment. Because the product tracks a total return index, dividends from constituent stocks are not distributed separately but are reinvested within the index.

Venture capital firms are central players in risk capital, investing in unlisted startups in innovative sectors such as AI, biotech and robotics. They generate returns through corporate growth and exit events such as listings and acquisitions. While retail investors typically cannot invest directly in unlisted companies, the product offers a way to gain indirect exposure to the growth of innovative unlisted firms through publicly traded venture capital companies.

Kiwoom Securities will serve as the liquidity provider and plans to keep the bid-ask spread within 1 percent. Investors can trade the ETN freely on the Korea Exchange's KOSPI market, just as they would ordinary shares. The total annual fee is 0.60 percent. However, investors may incur principal losses due to a decline in the underlying index or the issuer's credit risk.

"Investor attention to the venture capital sector is growing amid the government's policy to expand risk capital supply and the recovery of the venture investment market," a Kiwoom Securities official said. "We hope the Kiwoom Venture Capital Startup Investment ETN will serve as an effective vehicle for diversified investment across the domestic venture investment ecosystem."

Kiwoom Securities is also expanding its AI investment services. Through the "Simple Mode" feature of its mobile trading system "Heroes S#," the platform offers specialized content including AI market research notes, AI stock research notes, AI-summarized domestic and US research, and Kiwoom Shorts. The cumulative number of users of the mode has recently surpassed 1.7 million.