Taiwan's Actively Managed ETF Market Surpasses NT$500 Billion in One Year

(Central News Agency reporter Tseng Jen-kai, Taipei, 4th) Taiwan's first actively managed ETF has been listed for one year. In just one year, actively managed ETFs have become a new mainstream investment trend in the Taiwan stock market. Nearly 30 actively managed ETFs are currently listed on the Taiwan stock market, with an overall market size exceeding NT$500 billion. Nomura Taiwan Alpha (00980A), Taiwan's first actively managed ETF, was listed on May 5, 2025. Today, a one-year anniversary celebration press conference was held. Nomura Asset Management General Manager Huang Hong-zhi recalled that at this time last year, the global stock market experienced a crash due to US tariffs. In contrast, today the Taiwan stock market closed above 40,000 points for the first time, and actively managed ETFs witnessed this process. Following the boom of high-dividend ETFs in 2024 and market-cap weighted ETFs in 2025, actively managed ETFs have become the hottest new investment trend in the Taiwan stock market this year. Among them, the popular Uni-President Taiwan Growth (00981A) just surpassed NT$100 billion in asset size in early April. In just one month, 00981A's latest market value has risen to NT$238.9 billion. Huang Hong-zhi believes that the rapid development of Taiwan's actively managed ETFs is the result of the joint efforts of all asset management companies. Looking at the performance of all actively managed Taiwan stock ETFs currently listed, all have outperformed the broader market, allowing investors to feel the advantages of actively managed ETFs and express their recognition with capital. The biggest difference between actively managed and passively managed ETFs is that traditional passively managed ETFs passively track an index, while actively managed ETFs have professional managers who operate the fund. According to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, actively managed ETFs are open-ended funds where fund managers actively construct and adjust investment portfolios based on specific investment objectives and strategies, aiming to outperform benchmark indices or achieve specific investment goals, and are traded on the stock exchange. A senior executive in the investment advisory industry analyzed that as the Taiwan stock market continues to reach new highs, breaking through the 40,000-point mark, it attracts investors to the stock market. However, after the Taiwan stock market rises, the difficulty of stock selection also increases. Especially now, there are many "thousand-dollar stocks" and even "ten-thousand-dollar stocks" whose prices are prohibitively high, and many investors choose to participate in Taiwan stock investment through actively managed ETFs. Secondly, this wave of significant increases in Taiwan stocks is mainly driven by AI, and not all sectors have benefited equally, with significant differentiation in the performance of different sectors and individual stocks. Due to the rapid progress and changes in various new AI technologies, actively managed ETFs have professional managers and teams to operate them, making it easier to keep up with market trends during bull markets, which is another important reason why actively managed ETFs are favored by investors. Due to the hot market, asset management companies are rushing in. For example, Uni-President Asset Management is seizing the opportunity with its latest offering, the Uni-President Taiwan Upgrade 50 Actively Managed ETF (00403A), a sister product to 00981A, which has already created a buzz before its listing. At the end of April, its initial fundraising attracted over NT$80 billion. With 00403A scheduled to be listed on May 12, it is preparing to build its holdings, which is expected to inject capital into the Taiwan stock market. In addition, Nomura Asset Management's Nomura Taiwan High Dividend (00999A) will be listed on the 5th, and Fubon Asset Management's Taiwan Dragon Glory Actively Managed ETF (00405A) is tentatively scheduled to begin fundraising in mid-May. More and more new actively managed ETFs are joining the market, and the market continues to heat up. Kang Ho Securities General Manager Chen Chih-hao reminded that actively managed ETFs have become somewhat of a behemoth. As their scale rapidly expands, a large amount of capital is chasing a small number of hot stocks, which may amplify rises and falls in the Taiwan stock market. Secondly, unlike traditional mutual funds, ETFs are required to disclose their investment portfolios daily. This excessively high transparency, like "calling the winners" after every market close, may lead to even higher capital concentration. Huang Hong-zhi believes that market capital is indeed somewhat hot, but the fundamental key lies in the fundamentals. Benefiting from the continuous expansion of AI infrastructure, Taiwan's related hardware manufacturers have become major beneficiaries. The growth potential of many Taiwan stock companies is astonishing, with rapid upward revisions in profitability, and the fundamentals are keeping up. The seesaw has not lost its balance, and he is optimistic that the actively managed ETF market will continue to grow alongside the Taiwan stock market. (Editor: Chang Chun-mao) 1150504