Kiwoom Securities’ $720,000-Plus Clients Jump 80.7% in a Year, With Younger Investors Favoring SK Hynix

The number of high-net-worth clients at Kiwoom Securities with at least 1 billion won ($720,000) in deposited assets climbed more than 80% from a year earlier. By age group, investors in their 20s and 30s held SK Hynix as their top stock, while those in their 40s and older favored Samsung Electronics.

Customer investment data released by Kiwoom Securities on Aug. 25 showed that, as of the end of last month, the number of clients with at least 1 billion won ($720,000) in deposited assets rose 80.7% from a year earlier. The number of clients with 3 billion won ($2.16 million) or more increased by about 90%.

Stock holdings among wealthy clients also shifted. For customers with at least 1 billion won in assets, the top holdings in July last year were Samsung Electronics, Naver, SK Hynix, Kakao and Doosan Enerbility. In July this year, the ranking changed to Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Hyundai Motor, Doosan Enerbility and Naver.

Among clients with at least 3 billion won in assets, the top holdings were reshuffled from Samsung Electronics, Naver, Kakao, SK Hynix and Doosan Enerbility to Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Hyundai Motor, Doosan Enerbility and Samsung Electro-Mechanics. In both asset brackets, SK Hynix and Doosan Enerbility moved up the rankings, while Hyundai Motor entered the top five.

By age, SK Hynix ranked first among investors in their 20s and younger and those in their 30s. Samsung Electronics kept the top spot among investors in their 40s, 50s and 60s or older.

Hyundai Motor ranked in the third-to-fourth range across all age groups. In July last year, it appeared among top holdings only for investors in their 30s and 40s. This year, that broadened to every age group from those in their 20s and younger to those 60 and older.

Samsung Electronics preferred shares also newly entered the top five among investors in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s or older. By contrast, Kakao, which ranked among the top holdings last July for investors in their 40s and 50s, and Alteogen, which did so for those in their 30s, fell out of the top five across all age groups this year. Doosan Enerbility remained a top holding for investors in their 20s and younger and those 60 and older for a second straight year.

Kiwoom Securities had 9.05 million individual clients as of the end of last month, up about 920,000, or 11%, from 8.13 million at the end of July last year.

"A look at recent investment behavior among high-net-worth clients shows that investors in their 20s and 30s are showing a clear preference for stocks with stronger growth expectations, while those in their 40s and older continue to focus on market-leading names with stability," a Kiwoom Securities official said.

Kim Yeon-ji, Hankyung.com reporter kongzi@hankyung.com