There are many pieces of advice to spend a happy Lunar New Year holiday with the whole family. In summary, it suggests avoiding heated political discussions and steering clear of topics that may be sensitive, such as academics, employment, and marriage.
Stocks also seem to be an inappropriate conversation topic around the dining table. This is because investment preferences differed significantly by gender and age group. "Male in his 20s" showed a marked love for U.S. stocks, while many in their 40s and 50s were still identified as 'Donghak ants' (individual investors in Korean stocks).
On the 25th, based on data from 118,000 customers linked with the investment management application "Domino" operated by Fintech company FastForward, it was analyzed that the transactions of Korean and U.S. stocks on January 10 showed this result.
On the same day, the transaction value per person for Korean stocks was 5.5 million won, while for U.S. stocks it was 10.6 million won, showing roughly a double difference. Considering that a year ago, the transaction value for Korean stocks (5.6 million won) nearly doubled the transaction value for U.S. stocks (3.2 million won), the reversal phenomenon was notable.
When divided by gender, 90% of the transaction value for U.S. stocks came from Namsung, while 10% was from women. However, when narrowing it down to investors holding U.S. stocks, the numbers were different. The participation rate of women in U.S. stock transactions (number of users ÷ number of holders) was 53%, while that of men was 45%. This means that while Namsung appears to have a larger scale in U.S. stock transactions, once women engage in stock investments, they are also actively trading.
When further segmented by gender and age, characteristics became even more distinct. Looking at the proportion of transaction value for U.S. stocks, males in their 30s accounted for 38.6%, the largest share. Males in their 30s also held 28.8% of the transaction value for Korean stocks, making them the second largest group after males in their 40s. They were the most active stock investors.
Considering the differences in transaction proportions between U.S. and Korean stocks, the concentration of U.S. stocks among males in their 20s was prominent. Males in their 20s accounted for 24.1% of the transaction value for U.S. stocks, making them the second largest group after males in their 30s, while their proportion for Korean stocks was only 6.1%. This was the largest gap among all gender and age proportions.
Among the top 10 Korean stocks traded by males in their 20s, five were only nominally Korean stocks. This was because prominent names included domestically listed index-tracking exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for the U.S. market, such as TIGER U.S. Nasdaq 100, KODEX U.S. S&P 500 TR, TIGER U.S. S&P 500, and KODEX U.S. Dividend Dow Jones.
The investor most different from males in their 20s was males in their 50s. Males in their 50s recorded an 18.2% share in transaction value for Korean stocks, while their proportion for U.S. stocks was only 6.8%. This indicates that they are still more active in investing in Korean stocks.
Among the Korean stocks with high transaction values for males in their 50s, the only domestically listed U.S. index ETF was KODEX U.S. S&P 500 TR. They frequently traded individual stocks such as Yuhan Corporation, ISU PETASYS, HANMI Semiconductor, KRAFTON, as well as liquidity-focused ETFs like RISE Money Market Active and KODEX CD Rate Active (Synthetic).
Based on transaction proportions, women in their 20s and 30s favored U.S. stocks, while those in their 40s and 50s preferred Korean stocks. The notable difference is that women in their 40s and 50s traded domestically listed U.S. index ETFs more actively than their male peers. Prominent names among the top traded stocks included TIGER U.S. Nasdaq 100, TIGER U.S. Dividend Dow Jones, and TIGER U.S. S&P 500. Likewise, about half of the top traded stocks among women in their 20s and 30s were also domestically listed U.S. index ETFs.
There was also a commonality that transcended gender and age differences. When investing in U.S. stocks, individuals tended to be aggressive. Excluding investors aged 70 and older, among the top traded stocks, there were leveraged ETFs like SOXL (which tracks a threefold daily rise in the U.S. semiconductor index) and TSLL (which tracks a double daily rise in Tesla's stock price), as well as volatile stocks like IONQ and Rigetti Computing (RGTI).
Last year, the performance of U.S. stock investors was generally better than that of Korean stock investors. This was largely due to the significantly divergent direction of the indices. Thus, many shifted their focus to U.S. stocks. What about this year? Securities firms evaluate that with the inception of Donald Trump's second term, market volatility has increased, making predictions challenging. There are also cautious forecasts suggesting that the Korean stock market, which performed poorly last year, may see better results this year.
Investment judgment differs by gender and age, but it would be nice to exchange good wishes during the Lunar New Year holiday. This year, let’s all wish for "successful investment."