The net buying amount of domestic investors accounted for one-third of the transaction volume of U.S. stocks, which saw significant purchases. Leverage stocks are products that double the daily rise and fall rates of specific stock indices or stocks. This trend is explained by the increase in aggressive investments made by overseas individual investors, known as 'seohakgaemi,' during periods of market volatility.
According to the Korea Securities Depository, from the 1st to the 14th of this month (based on settlement date), the transaction volume of the top 50 net purchased U.S. stocks by domestic investors was $6.29661 billion (approximately 8.71 trillion won). Among this, 32.8% ($2.06135 billion, 2.85 trillion won) was in leverage stocks. Based on net buying size, the share of leverage stocks was also 29.3% ($495.82 million, approximately 680 billion won).
The 'TSLL' stock, which tracks Tesla's daily rise by 2 times, had a net buying amount of $360.82 million (approximately 500 billion won), making it the largest among U.S. stocks. 'SOXS,' which follows the daily decline rate of the U.S. semiconductor index by 3 times, and 'PLTU,' which tracks Palantir's daily rise by 2 times, also made it into the top 10 net buying stocks.
In January of this year, the proportion of net purchase amounts for leverage stocks among the top 50 net purchases was around 21.8%. This grew to 27.6% in February, 33.7% in March, and 29.2% in April. This trend is interpreted to have increased the number of overseas individual investors keen on leverage investment amid the so-called 'tariff war' that shook the stock market after the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
With the suspension of tariffs, the U.S. stock market quickly rebounded, causing the proportion of net buying amounts for leverage stocks among the top 50 to pause at 20.6% in May. However, it showed an increasing trend again with 29.5% last month and currently at 29.3% this month.
Aggressive investments are not leading to results. The 'SOXL,' which has the largest net amount held by domestic investors (approximately 4.28 trillion won), has an average valuation gain rate of 5.43% for around 29,200 investors linked to the Naver Pay 'My Assets' service as of today. SOXL tracks the daily rise rate of the U.S. semiconductor index by 3 times. Considering that the Philadelphia semiconductor index has an annual rise rate of 14.8%, the yield is only one-third of that level.
The second-largest holding among leverage stocks, TSLL, has an average loss rate of 25% among 51,400 investors. The third-largest holding, 'ETHU,' also has an average valuation loss rate of 12.7%, indicating underperformance. ETHU follows the daily rise rate of the virtual asset Ethereum futures by 2 times.
'NVDL,' which is held by domestic investors for over 700 billion won, has a high average valuation gain rate of 39.7%. NVDL tracks the daily rise rate of NVIDIA by 2 times. However, the average valuation gain rate for NVIDIA investors is 50.2%, which is even higher. Due to the 'negative compounding effect,' profits have decreased over time during the volatile price fluctuations.
In the market, concerns regarding the concentration on leverage products continue, but leverage products linked to stocks favored by domestic investors are continuously being developed, suggesting that the trend is unlikely to subside in the near term.
The 'IONX' and 'HIMZ' stocks, which were listed in March, are representative examples. Both seek to double the daily stock price rise rates of the quantum computing company IONQ and the telemedicine corporation HIMS (Hims & Hers Health), respectively. It is estimated that around 20% of the transaction volume of IONX and HIMZ last month was accounted for by domestic investors.
This month, the 'SMU,' which tracks the daily stock price rise rate of the small modular reactor (SMR) company NuScale Power by 2 times, has been listed. As domestic investors accounted for 20% of NuScale Power's transaction volume, there is a possibility that investors will also flock to SMU.