As asset managers continue to roll out physical AI exchange-traded funds, Samsung Asset Management, Korea’s top ETF manager, has posted mixed results at home and abroad. Its Korean robot ETF has outperformed rival products, but its U.S. and Chinese humanoid ETFs have lagged those of competitors.
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According to Koscom ETF Check and other sources on April 23, Samsung Asset Management’s KODEX U.S. Humanoid Robot ETF posted a six-month return of 9.9% as of April 22. This was 12 percentage points lower than KB Asset Management’s RISE U.S. Humanoid Robot ETF, a product with the same theme, which gained 21.8% over the same period. The gap was even wider compared with Hanwha Asset Management’s PLUS Global Humanoid Robot Active ETF, which rose 29.6%, and NH-Amundi Asset Management’s HANARO Global Physical AI Active ETF, which gained 41.9%.
Physical AI refers to AI technology that enables machines to perceive the real world through sensors, assess situations, and physically move and act—in other words, AI with a body. It encompasses areas such as humanoids, robots and autonomous driving.
The pattern was similar for Chinese humanoid robot ETFs. The KODEX China Humanoid Robot ETF fell 5.2% over the past six months, a steeper decline than Mirae Asset Global Investments’ TIGER China Humanoid Robot ETF, which lost 3.7% over the same period. On a year-to-date basis, the KODEX ETF was down 11.8%, compared with a 7.4% decline for the TIGER ETF, resulting in a loss gap of more than 4 percentage points.
By contrast, Samsung performed differently in Korean products. The KODEX Robot Active ETF climbed 56.4% over six months, outperforming the similarly themed RISE AI & Robot ETF, which gained 31.6%. Although there is no direct peer for comparison, the KODEX Autonomous Driving Active ETF, which invests in Korean autonomous driving companies, posted a six-month return of 80.6%.
Returns of Physical AI-Related Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) / By Yoon Seung-jun
This appears to be the result of KODEX building its portfolio mainly around leading stocks in the humanoid value chain — the supply chain and connected industrial structure that make up the sector — including AI, components and platforms. The top holdings of the KODEX U.S. Humanoid Robot ETF include Nvidia, Tesla, Palantir, Amazon, Intuitive Surgical, Alphabet and Meta. With the exception of Intuitive Surgical, most are large-cap Big Tech companies engaged in AI-related businesses.
By contrast, RISE U.S. Humanoid Robot holds Teradyne, Tesla, Nvidia, Intel, Intuitive Surgical and Rockwell Automation among its top holdings, giving it relatively balanced exposure not only to Big Tech but also to industrial automation and robotics equipment stocks.
Concerns over overheated AI investment emerged in the second half of last year, increasing volatility in large technology stocks such as Nvidia. This weighed on the returns of ETFs with high exposure to such names. Palantir fell 16.8% over the past six months.
Teradyne, the largest holding in the RISE ETF, rose 173.7% over the same period. The gain was driven by expectations for higher test equipment sales amid surging demand for AI semiconductors, as well as growth prospects for its collaborative and autonomous mobile robot businesses.
In China, KODEX China Humanoid Robot placed greater weight on value-chain companies involved in control systems, reducers, precision components and hydraulics, rather than finished robot makers such as UBTech. Its top holdings include Inovance Technology, Leader Harmonious Drive Systems, Estun Automation and Hengli Hydraulic, with many companies involved in humanoid robot actuation, control, components and equipment. In effect, the ETF focused more on “picks-and-shovels” companies that form the foundation of the humanoid industry, rather than placing heavy emphasis on finished robot makers.
By contrast, Mirae Asset Global Investments’ TIGER China Humanoid Robot adopted a strategy of holding both finished humanoid robot companies and component stocks, with Luxshare Precision, UBTech, Dobot and Xpeng among its top holdings.
Samsung’s strategy was similar in Korea, but differences in individual stock returns led to different results. KODEX Robot Active boosted its return by including large-cap stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix among its top holdings, even though they are not directly related to robotics. KB Asset Management, by contrast, kept RISE AI & Robot more closely aligned with the core AI and robotics theme, with holdings such as Robotis, LG CNS, Naver and Doosan Robotics.
“The United States has strong competitiveness in semiconductors, which serve as the ‘brain’ of the humanoid industry, while China has strength in manufacturing capabilities such as joints, actuators and hardware. We built the portfolios to reflect the industrial structure of each market,” said Lim Tae-hyuk, head of ETF management at Samsung Asset Management. “Because there are not many listed pure-play humanoid companies, the current composition is effectively close to the best available option. The portfolio may change in the future as more related companies go public.”
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