A total of 22 Taiwan equity exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded all-time highs in investor numbers as of October 16, with semiconductor funds leading the gains, Taiwan Times reported on October 19. Passive funds made up 18 of the 22, and active funds accounted for four, according to data from the Taiwan Depository and Clearing Corporation.
Retail demand has held up even as US equities turn more volatile. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has weakened repeatedly, and Taiwan's stock market is under pressure to retest its quarterly moving average. Several chip-focused ETFs have posted one-year returns above 100% including dividends, and investor numbers rose as the October ex-dividend season got under way.
Of the 86 active and passive Taiwan equity ETFs, three semiconductor funds each added more than 10,000 investors since the start of October: Taishin Taiwan IC Design (00947), CTBC Key Semiconductor (00891) and Capital Semiconductor Income (00927). All three roughly doubled in value over the past year on a total-return basis.
Taishin Taiwan Semiconductor 30 (00904) gained 7,261 investors in October. Mega Taiwan Wafer Manufacturing (00913) added 5,520. Both also returned more than 100% over 12 months.
Huang Yu-min manages the 00947 and 00904 funds. He said dividend policies introduced by fund houses had drawn investors. He added that passive semiconductor ETFs had beaten the broader market and some market-cap-weighted funds over the medium to long term, giving holders both capital gains and dividend income.
Huang warned that US Treasury yields remained relatively high, which weighs on richly valued chip stocks. He expected short-term consolidation in equities. He noted, however, that buyers had stepped in to support quality stocks during pullbacks, and that rotation among semiconductor sub-sectors in Taiwan had quickened.
Looking to the fourth quarter and 2027, Huang said results from the four largest US cloud providers showed global artificial intelligence spending was still rising. That spending supports demand for advanced-process chips, servers and related components.
Taishin Investment Trust said firms such as TSMC and Global Unichip stood to gain from growing demand for application-specific integrated circuits in electric vehicles, autonomous driving and robotics. The fund house noted that a heavy week of US tech earnings would put the focus on capital expenditure and the outlook for AI demand.