Taiwan's Stock Pickers Are Walking Out to Bet Their Own Money

All five mentioned U.S.-listed securities declined between the October 9 and October 16 closes, excluding distributions.

Rhea-AI Summary

ASE Technology (ASX) reported third-quarter revenue growth of 44.8% as Taiwan’s equity rally prompted some investment professionals to leave traditional fund-management roles. Revenue reached NT$244.2 billion; September revenue rose 45.5% year over year to NT$88.1 billion.

Taiwan’s benchmark index was up 62% this year when the departures were reported on October 16. Personal-trading restrictions contributed to the moves, although registered industry headcount increased to 4,729 in September from 4,581 at year-end 2025. The financial regulator plans to review the rules.

TSMC (TSM) reported third-quarter revenue of NT$1.49 trillion, up 50.9% year over year, and forecast fourth-quarter revenue of US$52.3 billion–US$54.3 billion. UMC’s August sales rose 30.71% year over year. The rally also reversed sharply: the TAIEX fell 4.6% last week, while ASE’s New York shares fell 14.86% between the October 9 and October 16 closes.

9 points · 0 major

PositiveiHow this balance works

How this balance works

Rhea-AI gives every point it takes from this document a weight. Minor counts 1, Moderate 3 and Major 9, so one Major point outweighs several Minor ones. The bar adds up the weights on each side, and when neither side holds more than 65% of the total the balance reads Mixed.

It reads the document as published, with the same rules for every company, and it does not look at what the market expected or at how the stock traded, so a point can be objectively good on a day the stock falls.

Rhea-AI Sentiment measures something else, the tone of the wording.

How the balance worksHow Sentiment works

0 major · 6 points

Hollow bars mark forward-looking points. How the balance works

Positive

• Moderate pointASE third-quarter revenue rose 44.8% year over year to NT$244.2 billion.
• Moderate pointTSMC third-quarter revenue increased 50.9% year over year to NT$1.49 trillion.
• Moderate point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.TSMC expects fourth-quarter revenue of US$52.3 billion to US$54.3 billion.
• Moderate pointUMC August sales increased 30.71% year over year, lifting year-to-date sales growth to 14.66%.
• Moderate point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.UMC guided for third-quarter capacity utilization above 90% in its second-quarter report.

4 minor points

• Minor pointASE September net revenue increased 45.5% year over year to NT$88.1 billion.
• Minor pointTSMC third-quarter net income increased 68.7% year over year.
• Minor pointUMC said revenue from its 22/28nm business continues to set record highs.
• Minor pointThe Taiwan Fund returned 47.36% for its fiscal quarter ended May 31, versus its benchmark’s 26.12%.

Negative

• Minor pointASE shares fell 14.86% to $39.53 between the October 9 and October 16 closes.
• Minor pointTSMC shares fell 8.98% to $412.61 between the October 9 and October 16 closes.
• Minor pointUMC shares fell 13.68% to $19.82 between the October 9 and October 16 closes.
• Minor pointiShares MSCI Taiwan ETF shares fell 7.04% to $106.26 between the October 9 and October 16 closes.
• Minor pointThe Taiwan Fund shares fell 8.78% to $94.18 between the October 9 and October 16 closes.
• Minor point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.TSMC CEO C.C. Wei warned of macroeconomic uncertainty and weak consumer demand.

AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

See more from StockTitan in Google Search and AI answers. Adds StockTitan as a preferred source · opens Google

Add on Google Not now

NEW YORK, Oct. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Fly On Wall Street News Commentary - Taiwan's benchmark stock index was up 62% this year, the best showing of any major equity gauge in the world, when Bloomberg reported on Oct. 16 that some of the island's professional fund managers and analysts are quitting their jobs to invest their own money. Strict rules keep them from trading the very stocks they pick for clients, and in a year when about one in ten stocks in the index has more than doubled, some have decided the trade-off is no longer worth it. Companies and funds mentioned in this article include: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited [TSMC] (NYSE: TSM), ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. [ASE] (NYSE: ASX), United Microelectronics Corporation [UMC] (NYSE: UMC), iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF (NYSE Arca: EWT), The Taiwan Fund, Inc. (NYSE: TWN).

Watching From Behind the Locker

Taiwan does not ban personal investing outright, but its asset-management code of conduct bars staff from trading a locally listed stock or a linked derivative within seven business days before or after their firm's funds trade it, which in practice rules out personal stock-picking. Fund managers must also lock away their phones, laptops and smartwatches each morning until the market closes at 1:30 p.m. The phone rule was formalized in 2024 to deter insider trading, the Taipei Times reported in July, after six former fund managers from four firms were indicted for front-running trades through the accounts of relatives and friends.

Ken Tsai, 40, a fund manager who until July worked at a large Taiwanese asset manager that Bloomberg did not name, told Bloomberg he made a Taiwanese maker of AI-server data-transfer components his fund's largest holding in 2024. The stock rose more than fivefold in 2025 and about sixfold again this year, but he owned none of it personally. "It left me with a strong sense of relative deprivation," he said. He now works at a private investment firm in Taipei, which was also not named. Pay adds to the pull: Taiwan portfolio managers earn roughly US$124,000 to US$311,000 a year, well below Hong Kong base salaries, according to Bloomberg, citing headhunters and recruitment-firm data.

The private shops they are joining sit outside those rules. They register as private companies with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and do not need asset-management licenses from the Financial Supervisory Commission because they do not raise public money. Brokers told Bloomberg some of them now generate more than NT$10 billion in monthly trading volume, rivaling mid-sized asset managers.

The Rally Behind the Exits

Much of the rally traces back to the AI hardware supply chain. TSMC reported third-quarter revenue of NT$1.49 trillion (US$46.7 billion) on Oct. 15, up 50.9% from a year earlier, while net income jumped 68.7% and gross margin reached 66.4%. It guided fourth-quarter revenue from US$52.3 billion to US$54.3 billion.

Chip packaging and testing has ridden the same wave. ASE Technology reported September net revenue of NT$88.1 billion, up 45.5% from a year earlier, and third-quarter revenue of NT$244.2 billion, up 44.8%.

Mature-node foundry UMC reported August sales up 30.71% from a year earlier, lifting year-to-date sales 14.66%. In its second-quarter report, the company guided for capacity utilization above 90% in the third quarter and said revenue from its 22/28nm business continues to set record highs.

CONTINUED... Read more market coverage at: flyonwallstreet.com

A Talent Squeeze, Not a Stampede

The numbers point to churn more than an exodus. Fewer than half of Taiwan's 20 largest local equity mutual funds have kept the same portfolio manager for more than three years, according to fund-data site MoneyDJ, and Bloomberg reported that applications for junior roles at some international firms have roughly halved this year. Yet the FSC said the industry's registered headcount actually rose to 4,729 in September from 4,581 at the end of 2025. Firms are responding: the largest foreign asset manager in Taiwan is offering cross-market analyst roles and office rotations to keep staff.

Regulators are paying attention. The FSC said on Oct. 15 it is gathering information and plans to review the rules, balancing market development against conflicts of interest and investor protection. One asset-management executive told Bloomberg there is no easy solution for now.

The Case for the Pros

At least one professionally managed fund has kept pace. The Taiwan Fund, a closed-end fund listed in New York, reported a 47.36% total return for its fiscal quarter ended May 31, against 26.12% for the TAIEX Total Return Index over the same period, with net asset value of US$116.90 a share at the end of that quarter.

Investors who prefer to own the whole market can use the iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF, which holds about US$11.9 billion in assets.

Last week was a reminder of how quickly the math can change. The TAIEX fell 4.6%, its first weekly decline in five weeks, as a technology selloff spread and TSMC CEO C.C. Wei warned of macroeconomic uncertainty and weak consumer demand, according to Trading Economics. In New York, TSMC's shares fell 8.98% from the Oct. 9 close to $412.61 on Oct. 16, ASE dropped 14.86% to $39.53, UMC slid 13.68% to $19.82, the iShares fund lost 7.04% to $106.26 and The Taiwan Fund declined 8.78% to $94.18, according to Stock Analysis data. For the managers who just traded a salary for their own account, those swings now land on them.

Taiwan's index fell 4.6% in a single week. Learn to read the charts behind moves like these with the free Stock Preachers guide, plus The Roadmap market reports, at stockpreachers.com.

Contact Information:

flyonwallstreet.com

Media Contact: info@flyonwallstreet.com 

DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this publication should be considered as personalized financial advice. We are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular financial situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. Please consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decision. This is not a paid advertisement and is neither an offer nor recommendation to buy or sell any security. We hold no investment licenses and are thus neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. The content in this report or email is not provided to any individual with a view toward their individual circumstances.

This article is independent news commentary. Fly On Wall Street is wholly owned and operated by Market Equities Limited ("MEL"), a company incorporated under the laws of Ireland. MEL has not been paid by any fund sponsor or company mentioned in this article. MEL and its owners, operators, directors, and affiliates do not currently own any shares of the funds or companies mentioned in this article, but reserve the right to, and will, buy and sell shares of those funds and companies at any time without further notice. Weekly price changes for U.S.-listed shares are from the October 9, 2026 close to the October 16, 2026 close based on Stock Analysis data and do not include distributions. Information is drawn from company and fund releases and filings, published reporting and third-party data believed to be reliable, but its accuracy is not guaranteed. Investing in securities carries risk, including the loss of some or all of your investment. This document is governed by the laws of Ireland.

 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/taiwans-stock-pickers-are-walking-out-to-bet-their-own-money-302912898.html

SOURCE Fly On Wall Street

FAQ

AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

How much did ASE Technology’s third-quarter and September revenue grow?

ASE Technology’s third-quarter revenue increased 44.8% year over year to NT$244.2 billion. September net revenue reached NT$88.1 billion, up 45.5% from a year earlier.

What personal-trading restrictions are prompting Taiwan’s fund managers to leave?

Taiwan’s asset-management code bars staff from trading a locally listed stock or linked derivative within seven business days before or after their firm’s funds trade it. Fund managers must also lock away phones, laptops and smartwatches each morning until the market closes at 1:30 p.m.

Why can Taiwan’s private investment firms operate outside asset-management licensing rules?

The private investment firms described do not need Financial Supervisory Commission asset-management licenses because they do not raise public money. They register as private companies with the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

What did The Taiwan Fund report for its fiscal quarter ended May 31?

The Taiwan Fund reported a 47.36% total return, compared with 26.12% for the TAIEX Total Return Index, for its fiscal quarter ended May 31. Its net asset value was US$116.90 per share at quarter-end.