Shinhan Investment Corp. Headquarters (Image courtesy of Shinhan Investment Corp.)
SEOUL, Apr. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – Samsung Electronics emerged as the most popular stock trading among South Korean minors so far this year, while Tesla and Apple led the charge in overseas equities, according to an analysis by Shinhan Investment Corp.
In a review of the top 10 stocks traded by its underage clients from January through March 27, the brokerage found that Samsung Electronics had the highest number of minor investors, followed by the tech giant’s preferred shares.
Of the leading 10 domestic stocks by number of minor traders, Samsung Electronics accounted for 36.6 percent of the total, with its preferred shares at 10.3 percent — an overwhelming dominance.
Other major Korean companies frequently traded by minors included Kakao (8.6 percent), Naver (8.6 percent), APR (8.6 percent) and Hyundai Motor (7.4 percent).
For overseas stocks, the so-called Big Tech names like Tesla (24.3 percent), Apple (22.6 percent) and Nvidia (11.3 percent) ranked highest. Notably, exchange-traded funds also made up four of the top traded foreign securities among minors.
While foreign stocks account for just 7.6 percent of total equity holdings across all individual investors at Shinhan, the overseas portion swelled to 20.6 percent for minor accounts, the analysis showed.
Looking at product experience rates, 46.9 percent of minor clients had traded domestic stocks and 28.9 percent had subscribed to initial public offerings. But 12.5 percent had exposure to overseas equities — higher than the 8.7 percent for overall individual investors — while only 3.1 percent used funds, lagging the 7.3 percent for adults.
“Compared to overall retail investors, minors exhibit significantly more interest in foreign stocks but less in funds, while their exposure to domestic stocks and I.P.O. subscriptions is similar,” said a Shinhan official.
Minor accounts make up 2.5 percent of all individual clients at Shinhan. Since the brokerage introduced online account opening for minors last June, 43.2 percent of new underage accounts have been opened remotely.
Ahead of the I.P.O. for APR, which Shinhan led in February, the ratio of remote account openings by minors that month and in January spiked to 63.9 percent.
To promote online channels, Shinhan is offering 20,000 won mobile gift cards to minors opening remote accounts through April 30. Those trading over 100,000 won in domestic or foreign stocks or bonds also receive 10,000 Naver Pay points.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
