KB Asset Management said on Thursday it has launched the "KB Kosdaq Leader Stock Fund". The fund focuses on the possibility that institutional money could flow into the Kosdaq as policy support strengthens for technology-driven growth industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, mobility and biotech.

Moves by the government to improve systems are also raising expectations for a better investment environment for the Kosdaq. Examples include expanding tax benefits for Kosdaq venture funds, raising the priority allocation ratio for IPO shares and pushing to introduce business development companies (BDCs).

The possibility of reflecting the Kosdaq index in fund management evaluation standards is also being cited as a factor that could expand participation by institutional investors.

The fund will be managed mainly around key large-cap stocks in the Kosdaq market. It uses both a "core strategy" that invests about 40 to 60 percent in companies representing major industries among stocks included in the Kosdaq150 index and a "booster strategy" that invests in promising companies with a high likelihood of being added to the index.

Because performance gaps among sectors and individual stocks are large in the Kosdaq market, the explanation is that selective investing that considers growth potential and shifts in supply and demand together is more important than simply tracking an index.

KB Asset Management plans to select investment targets through quantitative analysis that reflects index-inclusion effects and changes in supply and demand.

Beom Gwang-jin (범광진), head of the Pension WM Division at KB Asset Management, said, "The investment environment for the Kosdaq is improving as government policy support and industrial structural changes come together." He added, "We will identify differentiated investment opportunities through a selective investment strategy centered on large-cap growth stocks."