Taiwanese investors stepped up regular monthly purchases of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) last month despite a sharp market pullback, suggesting that they viewed the volatility as a buying opportunity rather than a reason to retreat from equities, Taiwan Depository and Clearing Corp (TDCC, 台灣集中保管結算所) data showed.
The number of investors making regular purchases of ETFs increased 1.24 million last month from the previous month, TDCC data showed. So far this year, the figure has grown by 6.37 million, the data showed.
Of the 94 ETFs listed in Taiwan, investors in Yuanta/P-shares Taiwan Top 50 ETF (0050) rose by the most of 324,400, followed by Capital Taiex Daily Leveraged 2X ETF (00685L) by 185,700 and Yuanta/P-shares Taiwan Dividend Plus ETF (0056) by 91,200, the data showed.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
The resilience of regular ETF investing highlights how the strategy has gained traction among retail investors. By investing a fixed amount regularly, investors gain more ETF units when prices fall, potentially lowering their average purchase cost over time.
Among the 10 most widely held ETFs, Capital Taiwan Growth ETF (00981A) posted the strongest return so far this year, gaining 76.29 percent including dividends, the data showed.
Cathay Taiwan Technology Leaders ETF (00881) ranked second with a 74.28 percent return, while Fubon Technology ETF (0052), which has a heavy weighting in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), gained 64.42 percent, the data showed.
The two major market-cap-weighted ETFs — Yuanta/P-shares Taiwan Top 50 ETF (0050) and Fubon FTSE TWSE Taiwan 50 (006208) — also delivered remarkable returns of more than 60 percent. By comparison, Capital Taiwan Selected High Dividend ETF (00919), a favorite among income-focused investors, posted a return of 43.57 percent year to date, the data showed.
The performance gap reflects a market increasingly driven by artificial-intelligence (AI) demand, as technology-heavy ETFs have benefited from sharp gains in Taiwan’s semiconductor and other technology stocks, while high-dividend funds generally have less exposure to some of the market’s strongest-performing growth shares.
Taiwan Stock Exchange said ETFs with heavier technology exposure have benefited disproportionately from the AI boom, while dividend-focused products have offered a different balance of income and diversification.
Still, the strong year-to-date gains of many ETFs provided a cushion against last month’s market pullback. For investors using regular monthly plans, the decline may have made ETFs even more attractive by allowing them to accumulate more units at lower prices, the exchange said.
Overall, the continued growth in regular ETF investment suggests that retail investors are increasingly treating the funds as a core vehicle for long-term equity exposure, and many appear willing to stay invested and use price declines to build their holdings rather than abandoning the market during periods of volatility, it said.
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