Summary
- Net assets of KODEX Silver Futures (H), the only silver-related ETF in Korea, more than doubled to 1.2155 trillion won in less than a month.
- Over the past month, KODEX Silver Futures (H) posted a 42.34% return, far outpacing ACE Gold Futures Leverage (Synthetic H) and spot gold ETF returns.
- Experts said the rise in silver prices is being sustained by growing safe-haven demand and expanding industrial demand, advising investors to use it as a medium- to long-term portfolio diversifier rather than for short-term bets.
With silver prices surging, large sums are also pouring into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that invest in silver. As demand for safe-haven assets rises and industrial demand provides additional support, silver prices are setting fresh records day after day.
According to the financial investment industry on the 27th, net assets of “KODEX Silver Futures (H),” the only silver-related ETF listed on Korea’s main stock market, totaled 1.2155 trillion won as of the previous day. Net assets, which had been below 600 billion won at the end of last year, more than doubled in less than a month. This brings the number of metal ETFs listed in Korea that have joined the “1 trillion won net assets” club to three, including “ACE KRX Gold Spot” (4.6467 trillion won) and “TIGER KRX Gold Spot” (1.3378 trillion won), both of which invest in physical gold.
The reason investors’ money has flowed in is, above all, the outsized return. Over the past month, KODEX Silver Futures (H) rose 42.34%. That easily tops the return of “ACE Gold Futures Leverage (Synthetic H)” (22.46%), a leveraged product that tracks gold futures prices. Over the same period, spot gold ETF products posted returns in the 11% range.
Analysts say silver’s distinctive role is coming into focus amid an “everything rally” sweeping across asset markets. Silver is an asset that simultaneously meets investment demand as a precious metal and physical demand as an industrial material. In particular, demand for silver has surged as it is used as a key material in advanced industries such as electric vehicles and semiconductors, driving prices sharply higher. Silver futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange впервые crossed $100 per troy ounce on the 23rd, and rose as high as $111 intraday.
The securities industry advises that silver should be used not as a simple short-term theme but as a long-term asset-allocation tool.
Lee Young-joo, a researcher at Hana Securities, said, “As uncertainty over global monetary and fiscal policy increases, silver’s status as a safe-haven asset is being highlighted, and industrial demand such as artificial intelligence (AI) is also supporting silver prices,” adding, “Rather than making short-term price bets, investors should approach it as an asset that complements portfolios over the medium to long term.”
Reporter Yang Ji-yoon yang@hankyung.com
Korea Economic Daily
hankyung@bloomingbit.ioThe Korea Economic Daily Global is a digital media where latest news on Korean companies, industries, and financial markets.
