Taiwan bourse launches ETF portal as investor demand surges

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The Taiwan Stock Exchange has launched an exchange traded fund platform providing investors with information on trends and latest ETF data as the funds become the fastest-growing investment product in the market.

Taiwan’s ETF market has experienced massive growth in recent years as local investors pile into high-dividend ETFs.

Total assets of 221 onshore Taiwanese ETFs hit historic highs of NT$3.06tn ($96.3bn) in June, recording a 30.8 per cent jump from NT$2.34tn at the end of 2022, according to data from the Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Association.

Five ETFs have now reached the milestone of NT$100bn in assets under management.

The ETFortune platform provides market statistics through visual analysis tools, including ETF assets size, rankings, and transaction and dividend allocation details.

The platform will also serve as an educational tool, with industry experts invited to share investment strategies and try to dispel investment misconceptions.

Investors can also use quantitative or qualitative indicators to screen out ETFs for different investment strategies.

Local fund giant Yuanta Fund was the first to market with its Yuanta Taiwan Top 50 ETF in 2003. The fund now leads the ETF market with NT$342.4bn in assets by the end of June.

The Yuanta Taiwan High Dividend Low Volatility ETF is the second-largest with NT$223.29bn in assets, followed by the Cathay MSCI Taiwan ESG Sustainability High Dividend Yield ETF with NT$206.36bn.

Younger investors in Taiwan have emerged as the major drivers behind the market’s ETF boom.

The proportion of the 25 to 34-year-olds investing in ETFs climbed from about 10 per cent between 2018 and 2020 to nearly 50 per cent in 2022, making young people the fastest-growing group of ETF investors.

The launch of the ETF information platform follows on from other recent efforts by the TWSE to provide more detailed information to investors about the market, including environmental, social and governance data.

The TWSE rolled out the ESG InfoHub and the Investment InfoHub — The Taiwan Markets Dashboard in July. The two platforms provide key information of the Taiwanese market or ESG-related activities of domestic companies.

*Ignites Asia is a news service published by FT Specialist for professionals working in the asset management industry. Trials and subscriptions are available at ignitesasia.com.