South Korean retail investors have suffered combined losses of about 2.3 trillion won, or roughly $1.7 billion, from investments in leveraged exchange-traded products tracking Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix shares in just a few months. Data from the office of Choi Eun-seok, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, shows that customers of 10 South Korean securities firms incurred these losses from investments in leveraged ETFs and instruments tracking Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix shares between May 27 and August 14. The figures mark the first clear disclosure of the scale of damage from leveraged single-stock products, after such products were launched in South Korea in May and quickly gained popularity among retail investors amid a speculative frenzy in artificial-intelligence-related stocks. The data came from South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service, which compiled information from several securities firms, including Mirae Asset Securities, Kiwoom Securities, Samsung Securities and NH Investment & Securities. The losses prompted South Korean regulators to begin introducing measures to curb speculation starting in July, including a temporary suspension of new listings for leveraged single-stock products, raising the minimum deposit investors must set aside, and requiring investors to complete training before trading such products. After regulators tightened the rules, trading volume in leveraged ETFs tracking chip stocks in South Korea fell sharply, reflecting that the speculative fervor among retail investors is beginning to cool.
Nh Investment And Securities 1p
Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities Co Ltd
Mirae Asset Daewoo Co Ltd
Samsung Securities
NH Investment & Securities Co Ltd
Kiwoom
SK Hynix Inc
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd