PLUS High Dividend (161510) 🔎 In-depth

The benchmark index is a dividend-stock index calculated by FnGuide. Its method is to first screen for sufficiently actively traded names among the top 200 by free-float market capitalization listed on KOSPI, and then select the top 30 with the highest expected dividend yield. The core is that it prioritizes companies that 'pay high dividends' rather than simply large companies, and it sets each name's weight so that a higher dividend yield carries a larger weight. Constituents are regularly rebalanced twice a year, in May and November. The benchmark index closing value is 24,199.45.

Because it is centered on mature companies that pay high dividends, it tends to move relatively gently compared with growth-stock indexes that swing sharply. Note, however, that because the weight of financial stocks is large, the index also reacts to issues such as the interest-rate environment, bank earnings, and shareholder-return policy. On July 13, 2026, the close was ₩24,875, down -1.15% on the day; even though that day saw a broad shake-up in KOSPI on a plunge in large semiconductor stocks, this ETF's decline was smaller than the market average. This can be seen as an example of the ETF's character, with its low semiconductor weight and its focus on defensive sectors such as financials and telecom. As a domestic-stock product, there is no FX effect.

It is an income-oriented product suited to investors who value 'dividends that arrive steadily' over price gains. Its strengths are that it pays distributions regularly and, because the constituents themselves have high dividend tendencies, it can be expected to provide stable cash flow. On the other hand, because its growth-stock weight is low, it may rise relatively less when the market rallies sharply on technology stocks, and you should be aware that dividends can increase or decrease with corporate earnings and are not fixed. Also, given the high weight of financial stocks, it is affected by the financial-sector cycle, including interest rates and regulation.

Into 2026, the environment remained favorable for domestic high-dividend and financial stocks. As the government decided to introduce a temporary tax preference (separate taxation) on dividend income from high-dividend companies, interest in high-dividend stocks grew, and bank stocks were re-rated as a key beneficiary sector of the 'value-up' policy as strengthened shareholder returns such as share buybacks, cancellations, and dividend increases came into focus. Indeed, the domestic banking-sector index has risen sharply again since the end of 2024. This trend overlaps in direction with the names this ETF mainly holds.

In a word, it is an ETF that puts high-dividend banks, telecom stocks, and the like into one basket to collect dividends. It has less of a dramatic kick, but it is a stable, income-oriented product in which dividends arrive steadily.