Mirae Asset continues to lead domestic equity ETF market

Mirae Asset Global Investments has been leading the domestic equity ETF market with its innovative growth ETFs since April 2022, according to data from the Korea Financial Investment Association.

In recent years, ETF products have become increasingly popular in Korea and have attracted significant inflows of funds. As a result, the Korean ETF market attracted more than 100 trillion won ($74.77 billion) in investments, with equity ETFs attracting 50 trillion won.

Industry sources say Mirae Asset's success in the local ETF market is due to its proactive introduction of a variety of innovative ETFs in line with market trends.

In 2006, Mirae Asset first stepped into the market in Korea with its Tiger ETF product.

Since then, Mirae Asset has been a leader in introducing innovative ETFs, including the Tiger US Nasdaq 100 ETF, which was the first in Korea to track the US Nasdaq 100 Index.

“As we approach the end of the interest rate hike cycle and equities become an attractive option, the strength of Tiger ETFs in themed investing will become even more evident,” a Mirae Asset official said.

In particular, this year, fueled by the AI boom, such as ChatGPT, and the strong performance of large US tech stocks, three Tiger ETFs -- Tiger US Tech Top 10 INDXX ETF, Tiger US Philadelphia Semiconductor Nasdaq and Tiger US Nasdaq 100 -- have gained tremendous popularity.

Additionally, four Tiger ETFs related to secondary batteries have garnered attention.

Mirae Asset also has a unique lineup with ETFs that has lots of potential.

For instance, ETFs like the Tiger Travel and Leisure ETF, the Tiger Cosmetics ETF and the Tiger China Consumption Theme ETF are expected to benefit from the resumption of Chinese group tourism.

Mirae Asset also has introduced various themed ETFs in future industries such as AI, robotics, biotech and space aviation.

Industry sources say the Korean asset management firm’s competitive advantage on the global stage has played a significant role in enabling Mirae Asset to introduce a wide range of innovative ETF products.

Park Hyun-joo, global strategy officer of Mirae Asset Group, has been actively driving mergers and acquisitions for the expansion of the global ETF business.

His effort began in 2011 with the acquisition of Canadian ETF manager Horizons ETFs, continued with the acquisition of Global X in the US in 2018 and extended to ETF Securities in Australia in 2022.

Additionally, the group established Mirae Asset Global Indices in India, overseeing ETF businesses from index development to liquidity provision and management, thereby creating a comprehensive ecosystem for global ETF operations.