The AdvisorShares KIM Korea Equity ETF (NYSE Arca: KOR) seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation above the capital appreciation of its primary benchmark, the MSCI Korea Index, and other Korea-focused indexes. KOR is managed by Korea Investment Management (KIM) Co., Ltd. (“Portfolio Manager.”) The Portfolio Manager seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in growth-oriented stocks of mid- to large capitalization range listed on the Korea Exchange. The Portfolio Manager manages the KOR portfolio by buying and holding stocks of companies with attractive valuations that it believes have growth potential especially in those industries with a differentiated and sustainable growth engine, utilizing a “bottom up” analysis by focusing on corporate fundamental research such as a company’s annual sales growth with sustained profit margins, and annual earnings per share growth.
In addition to individual stock selection that mainly determines sector allocation of the portfolio, the Portfolio Manager seeks investment ideas from a “top down” analysis of the macro economy and its effect on corporate competitiveness and industry cycles. The Portfolio Manager strives to invest with large economic cycles as compared to short-term market trends and short-term supply and demand dynamics.