[Edaily Reporter Park Sun-Yeop ] In the first half of this year, individual investors in the exchange-traded fund (ETF) market favored semiconductor stocks. SamsungElectronics(005930)and SK hynix(000660) As expectations for stock price increases grew, funds flowed more rapidly into semiconductor ETFs than into benchmark index ETFs. However, analysts suggest that while investors should continue investing in the AI value chain in the second half of the year, they must adopt a balanced approach—combining aggressive and defensive strategies—to prepare for volatility stemming from rising interest rates, the burden of investing in Big Tech, and concentration in single stocks.
According to the Korea Financial Investment Association on the 30th, the total net assets of domestic ETFs stood at 503.1821 trillion won as of the 29th. Total net assets, which stood at 298.2461 trillion won at the beginning of this year, surged by more than 200 trillion won in just six months, driven by a combination of a rising stock market and the launch of new products. This has led to assessments that ETFs have evolved beyond a simple means of diversified investment to become a key channel influencing capital flows in the domestic stock market.

◇Individual Investors Made 15.7 Trillion Won in Net Purchases of Semiconductor ETFs in the First Half Alone
The most prominent trend in the ETF market during the first half of this year was retail investors’ concentration on semiconductor ETFs. According to NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES, retail investors made net purchases of 37.3 trillion won in domestic equity ETFs since the beginning of the year, with net purchases of semiconductor ETFs alone reaching 15.7 trillion won. This figure exceeds the 11.1 trillion won in net purchases of ETFs tracking major indices such as the KOSPI 200.
Retail funds flowed primarily into ETFs focused on large-cap stocks such as SamsungElectronics and SK hynix, rather than the semiconductor sector as a whole. Buying interest concentrated on products with significant weightings in two specific stocks, such as the “SOL AI Semiconductor TOP2 Plus” (3.477 trillion won) and the “TIGER Semiconductor TOP10” (1.7759 trillion won), while large-cap-focused ETFs—which hold around 90% of their portfolios in four stocks—including SamsungElectronics, SK hynix,SKSQUARE(402340), andSamsungElectroMechanics(009150) —also gained popularity.
The rapid growth of single-stock leveraged ETFs is also part of this same trend. Since the listing in late May of single-stock leveraged ETFs based on SamsungElectronics and SK hynix, the total net assets of these products surged from approximately 4 trillion won on the listing date to 16 trillion won by the end of June. This indicates that short-term funds, which had previously been concentrated in existing index-based leveraged products, have shifted to products that bet more heavily on the returns of individual large-cap stocks such as SamsungElectronics and SK hynix.
The semiconductor ETF boom was not limited to the domestic market. In the U.S. ETF market as well, large-scale capital inflows were seen into memory semiconductor and semiconductor index-based products. “DRAM,” a U.S.-listed memory semiconductor ETF, and “SMH,” a leading semiconductor ETF, ranked among the top in terms of capital inflows this year. As the semiconductor sector’s weight in global stock markets has grown, ETFs that bundle investments across major semiconductor value chains—including those in South Korea, the U.S., Japan, and Taiwan—have also emerged as viable alternatives.
The preference for semiconductor ETFs is not expected to wane easily in the second half of the year. Ha Jae-seok, an analyst at NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES, said, “With the earnings momentum of memory semiconductor companies continuing and valuation pressures remaining low, the preference for semiconductor ETFs is expected to persist for the time being.” He cited South Korea’s “PLUS Global HBM Semiconductor” and the U.S.’s “DRAM” as the most representative global memory semiconductor company ETFs.
◇“Sword and Shield” Strategy for the Second Half… Maintaining AI as the Growth Engine While Hedging Against Volatility
ETF strategies for the second half of the year are expected to shift away from the first half’s approach of unilaterally increasing exposure to risky assets toward striking a balance between offense and defense. This means maintaining the AI value chain as the growth driver while preparing for increased volatility stemming from rising interest rates and concentration in individual stocks.
AI remains the offensive pillar. The entire AI value chain—including semiconductors, software, power infrastructure, data centers, and physical AI—is expected to remain a key investment target in the second half. The assessment is that as the AI industry expands, bottlenecks will arise across various sectors—such as GPUs, HBM, packaging, networks, power and cooling, data centers, and water resources—and companies that resolve these issues will have opportunities to monetize them. Robotics, defense, key exporters, and active ETFs were also proposed as pillars of an aggressive portfolio.
At the same time, the need for defensive measures has grown. This is because the second half of the year could see increased stock market volatility due to global central banks shifting toward monetary tightening, rising market interest rates, and concerns over Big Tech profitability stemming from rising AI investment costs. Consequently, hybrid ETFs—which combine stocks and bonds to reduce volatility—and covered call ETFs—which aim to generate dividends and provide a buffer by leveraging option premiums—are being discussed as alternatives.
Lim Eun-hye, Head of the ETP Strategy Team at SamsungSecurities, commented, “In a volatile market environment, covered call ETFs are attractive products that can simultaneously deliver both returns and stability.” Advice to also maintain a so-called “safety net”—comprising short-term bonds, inflation-hedging assets, and defensive stock ETFs—aligns with this perspective.
However, some experts point out that the use of leveraged ETFs should be limited. While they can boost returns during short periods of strong trends, long-term performance can be undermined by the compounding effect if the underlying asset experiences significant volatility or repeated fluctuations. In particular, single-stock leveraged ETFs—whose returns are heavily influenced by the stock price movements of SamsungElectronics and SK hynix—should be treated as short-term trading instruments.