KB Asset Management said on Wednesday that net assets of its RISE Korea Value Up ETF have exceeded 1 trillion won. It is the first Korea Value Up exchange-traded fund (ETF) to surpass 1 trillion won in net assets.

According to fund evaluator FnGuide, the RISE Korea Value Up ETF's return over the past 3 months stood at 39.65 percent as of the previous day. Returns over 6 months and 1 year were tallied at 92.11 percent and 216.67 percent, respectively.

The RISE Korea Value Up ETF tracks the Korea Value Up Index. The index is built by selecting domestic blue-chip firms that meet 4 criteria, including profitability, shareholder returns, market valuation and capital efficiency.

Specifically, it includes mainly stocks that take part in corporate value enhancement programs among companies that have been undervalued over a long period based on the price-to-book ratio (PBR) and return on equity (ROE). The strategy invests in stocks that could see corporate value rise over the medium to long term.

The Korea Value Up Index has continued to deliver performance based on a corporate value enhancement trend, even as global trade disputes and high interest rate burdens persist.

Investor sentiment is also being supported by continued share buybacks and larger dividends by participating companies as the government's corporate value-up programme enters an institutionalisation stage.

Yuk Dong-hwi (육동휘), head of ETF Product Marketing at KB Asset Management, said net assets topped 1 trillion won as investor interest grows in expanding shareholder returns and enhancing corporate value. He said the firm would continue to provide various solutions so that investors can invest in ways that effectively reflect structural changes in the domestic stock market.