(Bloomberg) — South Korean retail investors increased their holdings of U.S. stocks to more than $100 billion for the first time amid growing interest in big tech stocks and leveraged funds.
Bloomberg’s Most Read
Family traders held a combined $101.4 billion worth of U.S. stocks as of Nov. 7, according to data from the Korea Securities Depository. That’s a 64% increase from all of last year.
More individual traders are investing directly in U.S. stocks in search of better returns, as a drop in Korea’s Kospi index put it among the world’s worst performers this year. On the other hand, they have sold 4.4 trillion won ($3.2 billion) worth of shares in the benchmark on a net basis so far in 2024, despite the authorities’ efforts to revive the local stock market by improving corporate practices.
Assets in volatile sectors such as cryptocurrencies and technology stocks were among his top bets. The most popular stock among Korean investors was Tesla Inc., with individuals holding a combined total of $16.7 billion as of last week, according to warehouse data. Traders also held $13.8 billion in Nvidia Corp. shares, $4.6 billion in Apple Inc. shares and a $3.6 billion stake in Microsoft Corp.
Read: Korean Musk fans hope to strike it rich with $15 billion stake in Tesla
Leveraged exchange-traded funds tracking U.S. technology stocks were also in high demand. Those on the list of his six biggest holdings include an ETF that aims for three times the daily returns of the Nasdaq 100 index, and another fund that aims to generate three times the daily returns of US chip stocks.
–With the help of Hooyeon Kim.
Most Read Bloomberg Businessweek
©2024 Bloomberg LP