Chief financial regulator vows additional measures to curb demand for leveraged ETFs
A single-stock leveraged ETF linked to SK hynix can be seen in this May 27 photo. Yonhap
The chief financial regulator said Tuesday it will consider additional measures to dampen demand for recently introduced single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which have been blamed for heightened volatility in the stock market.
At a meeting with local brokerages and asset management firms, Lee Eog-weon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), said he will assess the impact of a new policy under which the minimum cash deposit required to invest in single-stock leveraged ETFs will be raised to 30 million won ($20,400), effective Friday.
The government moved up the implementation of the deposit requirement by several weeks to help stabilize the market and protect investors amid heightened market volatility.
President Lee Jae Myung has called for the swift implementation of such measures to calm the market.
"We will also review and prepare additional measures in advance in case demand does not subside sufficiently," Lee said.
As one possible option, he proposed a total volume management measure that would cap investment in such ETFs at 20 percent or less of an individual's total financial investment portfolio.
Single-stock leveraged ETFs linked to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, introduced in May, have been widely viewed as key drivers in the recent volatility in the domestic stock market.