Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Douglas Research Advisory

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>In this insight, we provide the top 10 stocks picks and key catalysts in the Korean stock market for the two weeks starting 3 March.</li>
<li>Our top 10 Korean stock picks from 14 to 28 January are down on average 1.8%, slightly outperforming KOSPI which is down 2.2% in the same period.</li>
<li>The top 10 Korean stock picks (bi-weekly) include SL Corp, Korea Electric Terminal, BNK Financial, S1, LX International, Doubleugames, Samsung C&amp;T, Amorepacific Corp (pref), SK Telecom, and POSCO International. </li>
</ul>


In this insight, we provide the top 10 stocks picks and key catalysts in the Korean stock market for the two weeks starting 3 March.
Our top 10 Korean stock picks from 14 to 28 January are down on average 1.8%, slightly outperforming KOSPI which is down 2.2% in the same period.
The top 10 Korean stock picks (bi-weekly) include SL Corp, Korea Electric Terminal, BNK Financial, S1, LX International, Doubleugames, Samsung C&amp;T, Amorepacific Corp (pref), SK Telecom, and POSCO International. 


Top 10 Korean Stock Picks and Key Catalysts Bi-Weekly (3 March 2025)

Asset Allocation & Fund Positioning, Copley Fund Research

Steven Holden

Asset Allocation & Fund Positioning

Copley Fund Research

Copley Fund Research provide research and data on asset allocation among Global and Emerging Market equity funds.  The analysis details absolute and relative positioning across countries, sectors and industries together with highly granular data on single stock and single fund allocations.  The data is updated monthly with time series going back to January 2011.

Global Research - Analysis of 165 prominent Global equity funds, combined AUM $335bn
GEM Research - Analysis of 127 prominent global EM equity funds, combined AUM $250bn

Asset Allocation - Global and GEM Equity

Cross Asset Strategy

<ul>
<li>Small cap Emerging Market funds have outperformed their large-cap peers over the past 10 years.</li>
<li>Yet small and midcap exposure decreased to near record levels last year, in spite of managers maintaining an overweight position versus the benchmark.</li>
<li>We screen for well owned and small/midcap stocks that are showing strong momentum among managers.</li>
</ul>


Small cap Emerging Market funds have outperformed their large-cap peers over the past 10 years.
Yet small and midcap exposure decreased to near record levels last year, in spite of managers maintaining an overweight position versus the benchmark.
We screen for well owned and small/midcap stocks that are showing strong momentum among managers.


Korea / Special Situations, Clepsydra Capital

Sanghyun Park

Korea / Special Situations

Korea / Special Sits, Pairs, Index Rebalancing

Clepsydra Capital

Investigate special situations, pairs, and index rebalancing trades in Korea.

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>SK Inc plans to use SK Hynix as a dividend machine, boosting payouts to ₩3 trillion, and if it absorbs SK Square, it could pocket ₩600 billion—doubling SK Telecom's dividends.</li>
<li>SK Inc will likely use ₩5 trillion from the SK Telecom deal for a tender offer, boosting its stake in SK Square to 60-70% before merging to minimize dilution.</li>
<li>The SK Telecom deal and potential SK Square tender offer could be the main narrative driving SK Group stocks this year, making SK Square a key momentum play.</li>
</ul>


SK Inc plans to use SK Hynix as a dividend machine, boosting payouts to ₩3 trillion, and if it absorbs SK Square, it could pocket ₩600 billion—doubling SK Telecom's dividends.
SK Inc will likely use ₩5 trillion from the SK Telecom deal for a tender offer, boosting its stake in SK Square to 60-70% before merging to minimize dilution.
The SK Telecom deal and potential SK Square tender offer could be the main narrative driving SK Group stocks this year, making SK Square a key momentum play.


SK Stocks’ Main Narrative: SK Telecom Exit & SK Inc Eyeing SK Square

SAMSUNG KODEX KOREA Value-Up ETF / Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>They ditched the rulebook, used a market cap filter to pick the top 5, and watered down PBR and ROE, making them irrelevant. Market cap was the real deciding factor.</li>
<li>KRX hasn't confirmed it, but local sources say the special rebalancing was based on the top 50 KOSPI market caps as of the December 13th close.</li>
<li>The shift was driven by local pension funds, especially NPS, which pushed for more big-cap exposure to trigger Value-Up investments, signaling a potential ramp-up in their involvement.</li>
</ul>


They ditched the rulebook, used a market cap filter to pick the top 5, and watered down PBR and ROE, making them irrelevant. Market cap was the real deciding factor.
KRX hasn't confirmed it, but local sources say the special rebalancing was based on the top 50 KOSPI market caps as of the December 13th close.
The shift was driven by local pension funds, especially NPS, which pushed for more big-cap exposure to trigger Value-Up investments, signaling a potential ramp-up in their involvement.


Behind the Scenes of KRX Value-Up Index Special Rebalancing: What It Means for Flow Dynamics

<ul>
<li>S&amp;P500 is up 27.7% YTD, outperforming KOSPI which is down 6.9% YTD. Global fund flow continues to pour into top quality US stocks such as Palantir, Tesla, and NVIDIA.</li>
<li>The top 20 best performing stocks in KOSPI 200 are up on average 106.8% YTD. However, the remaining 180 stocks in KOSPI 200 are down on average 9.2% YTD. </li>
<li>There is no large Palantir-like company that deals with AI/data analytics in Korea. However, large cap IT services and telcos in Korea are increasingly expanding their AI/data analytics related business.</li>
</ul>


S&amp;P500 is up 27.7% YTD, outperforming KOSPI which is down 6.9% YTD. Global fund flow continues to pour into top quality US stocks such as Palantir, Tesla, and NVIDIA.
The top 20 best performing stocks in KOSPI 200 are up on average 106.8% YTD. However, the remaining 180 stocks in KOSPI 200 are down on average 9.2% YTD. 
There is no large Palantir-like company that deals with AI/data analytics in Korea. However, large cap IT services and telcos in Korea are increasingly expanding their AI/data analytics related business.


A Comparison of KOSPI 200 and S&P 500 Companies Performances in 2024

South Korea

SK Telecom Co., Ltd. is a Korean mobile and telecommunications operator. The Company provides cellular voice, wireless data, and wireless internet services. SK Telecom also offers fixed line services and platform services.

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SK Telecom (SKM US)

Top 10 Korean Stock Picks and Key Catalysts Bi-Weekly (3 March 2025)

In this insight, we provide the top 10 stocks picks and key catalysts in the Korean stock market for the two weeks starting 3 March.

Douglas Kim

Active GEM Funds: The Small Cap Effect

Small cap Emerging Market funds have outperformed their large-cap peers over the past 10 years, Yet small and midcap exposure decreased to near...

Steven Holden

SK Stocks’ Main Narrative: SK Telecom Exit & SK Inc Eyeing SK Square

This post summarizes the key market narrative around SK Group stocks: SK Telecom’s exit and SK Inc potentially eyeing the absorption of SK Square.

Sanghyun Park

Behind the Scenes of KRX Value-Up Index Special Rebalancing: What It Means for Flow Dynamics

This post provides the inside scoop on the KRX Value-Up Index special rebalancing and its implications for flow dynamics.

Sanghyun Park

A Comparison of KOSPI 200 and S&P 500 Companies Performances in 2024

There is no large Palantir-like company that deals with AI/data analytics in Korea. However, large cap IT services and telcos in Korea are...

Douglas Kim

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