KB News Desk
A prospectus for what would be the first US-listed K-beauty exchange-traded fund arrived at the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, stirring expectations that global capital could soon flow into the sector at scale.
The prospectus was filed by US-based asset manager Guinness Atkinson for its K-beauty ETF, ticker KBTY, which plans to list on NYSE Arca. The fund will put at least 80 percent of net assets into K-beauty companies, defined as firms organized, headquartered, or listed in South Korea whose business centers on beauty, personal care, cosmetics or dermatological products.
Rather than picking stocks itself, the fund will track a rules-based index spanning four segments of the value chain: brand owners, contract manufacturers and suppliers, distributors and retailers, and aesthetic and dermatological product providers.
“This is the first case of incorporating K-beauty as an independent investment theme within the US capital market, and it should help improve supply and demand in the medium to long term,” said an analyst at NH Investment & Securities.
The filing lands as Korean cosmetics stocks post sharp gains, with companies like APR and Kolmar Korea rising on the back of record export numbers.
First-half exports reached a record $7 billion, up 27.3 percent on-year, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The US remained the top buyer at $1.45 billion, up 41.5 percent and 20.7 percent of total exports, while shipments to the UK, the Netherlands and Poland each climbed more than 70 percent.
Analysts remain bullish on K-beauty’s momentum in the US market.
According to a Hanwha Investment & Securities research note, Korean brands accounted for half of the top 50 best-selling skincare items during Amazon’s Prime Day, held June 23-26. Medicube led the pack, with Anua, Laneige, Beauty of Joseon and d’Alba also among the top sellers.
