Samsung Asset Management’s Samsung U.S. S&P 500 Index Fund has surpassed 1.004 trillion won ($720 million) in net assets on a mother-fund basis, becoming the first public fund in Korea tracking the S&P 500 to cross the 1 trillion won mark. The fund’s assets have risen 397.7% from the end of 2023 and are up 27.8% so far this year, reflecting steady investor demand for broad exposure to large U.S. equities. The product invests across 500 leading U.S. companies including Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet and Visa, giving investors diversified exposure rather than concentrating risk in a single sector. Samsung Asset Management pointed to that diversification appeal as semiconductor stocks weakened: the MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index (index of 25 U.S. chip companies) fell 14.3% from its June 22 peak through the 11th of this month, while the S&P 500 gained 3.4% over the same period. The fund also offers currency-hedged and unhedged versions, allowing investors to choose based on exchange-rate expectations and risk appetite. As the won-dollar exchange rate rose from below 1,400 won a year earlier to 1,555.8 won last month, the unhedged version, which also benefits from dollar strength, saw faster asset growth. Over the past year, net assets in the hedged version increased 29.4%, while the unhedged version climbed 82.0%. Returns over the same period were 19.5% and 23.5%, respectively. Samsung Asset Management said the fund’s tracking error (gap versus benchmark performance) was 0.6% over the past year and 0.66% since inception in March 2016, which it said supports the product’s reliability. Ryu Jong-ha, a manager at Samsung Asset Management, said the S&P 500 has delivered an average annual return of about 10% over 30 years and remains a core benchmark for global markets.