Tech-savvy and agile group of under 30 has led the jump in Korean offshore securities trade, according to a local investment bank.

According to a study by Shinhan Investment Corp on its 30,000 customers investing in overseas stocks, 35.8 percent, or 10,734 of the total were in their 20s as of the end of last month, the largest by age group. They were followed by investors in their 30s (31.6 percent), 40s (18 percent), 50s (7.6 percent), under 20 (3.9 percent), and over 60 (3.1 percent).

In its previous analysis in 2014, Shinhan Investment customers in their 40s accounted for the largest 33.6 percent among age groups investing in overseas stocks, followed by those in their 30s (29.8 percent) and 50s (15.7 percent). Young investors in their 20s accounted for only 10.1 percent as of the end of 2014.

Shinhan Financial said that young people have become more open to overseas stock investment in recent years amid rising trend for direct overseas stock purchases. The company’s diverse services, such as one that allows investors to invest in overseas shares in decimal units, also appealed many young investors.

Young Koreans also are bolder in investments as they do not place greater weight on savings for fixed security like home purchases.

Shinhan Financial’s study showed that investors of overseas stocks owned an average of 71.8 million won ($61,091) in stock assets each at home and abroad, of which 28.5 percent or 20.5 million won was overseas stock asset. By age group, overseas stock asset accounted for the largest of the total stock asset in investors in their 20s (39.9 percent), followed by 30s (36.4 percent), 40s (31.6 percent), 50s (27.8 percent), and over 60 (23.2 percent).

The study also showed that the lion’s share 80.5 percent of overseas investments was U.S. stocks based on transaction amount in the past year, followed by 12.1 percent in shares in China and Hong Kong, and 4.9 percent in those in Japan. Among investors in their 20s, 93 percent of the investment was in the U.S. By item, Apple Inc. shares were most popular among overseas stock investors, as well as those of Starbucks Corporation, Netflix Inc., Walt Disney Company, Microsoft Corp., and Amazon.com Inc.​

By Yoo Joon-ho and Lee Eun-joo

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