An unprecedented market plunge has driven Korean retail investors into complex, high-yield structured products. Stock-linked securities (ELS) offering annualized coupons of up to 40–50% have regained favor; July ELS sales rose to a more-than-three-year high, led by products tied to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Regulators are moving to curb retail demand for single-stock leveraged ETFs, which were seen as amplifying volatility during the KOSPI’s 22% fall last month. The selloff has done litt

2026-08-23

An unprecedented market plunge has driven Korean retail investors into complex, high-yield structured products. Stock-linked securities (ELS) offering annualized coupons of up to 40–50% have regained favor; July ELS sales rose to a more-than-three-year high, led by products tied to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Regulators are moving to curb retail demand for single-stock leveraged ETFs, which were seen as amplifying volatility during the KOSPI’s 22% fall last month. The selloff has done little to damp retail risk appetite but has shifted demand toward ELS, which pay coupons if underlyings stay within preset ranges and can suffer large losses if markets tumble sharply.