Million-Holder Securities Rise to 8, 0050 Stays on Top
Taiwan stocks performed strongly this year. As of October 22, securities with more than one million holders rose to 8. According to Taiwan Depository & Clearing Corporation data, there were only 7 on December 26 last year, when Yuanta Taiwan 50 (0050) led with 2.036 million holders as the only one above 2 million; the original 7 remain on the list this year, with newly added UMC (2303) joining the million-shareholder ranks.
As of October 22, 0050 led with about 3.72 million beneficiaries, TSMC (2330) was second with 3.167 million shareholders, followed by Yuanta High Dividend (0056) with 1.741 million, Cathay Sustainable High Dividend (00878) with 1.707 million, Capital Taiwan Select High Dividend (00919) with 1.501 million, China Steel (2002) with 1.293 million, Hon Hai (2317) with 1.155 million, and UMC with 1.094 million.
Odd-Lot Investors Hold Up Market, Over 80% of TSMC Shareholders Own Less Than One Lot
Based on securities already listed on December 26 last year, 0050 added 1.685 million beneficiaries, up 82.8%, ranking first; TSMC added 1.312 million shareholders, up 70.7%, ranking second, of which holders of less than one lot increased by 1.203 million, with odd-lot investors rising from 75.1% to 81.9% of total shareholders. Active Uni-President Taiwan Growth (00981A) added 746,000 holders, ranking third, up 359.1%.
Taiwan stocks staged a big surprise this year, with the weighted index climbing from about 29,000 points at the start of the year, with intraday highs approaching 50,000 points. According to Taiwan Stock Exchange data, as of October 22 there were 17 trading days closing up over 1,000 points and 12 days down over 1,000 points, with the largest single-day gain of 3,186.45 points and the largest drop of 2,953.71 points both occurring in July.
Margin Balances Hold Up Amid Volatility, Domestic Funds Provide Support
Senior securities analyst 王兆立 analyzed that March's sharp drop was mainly affected by the US-Iran war, while June's drop was related to AI valuation corrections and shattered expectations for U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts, but margin balances rose instead of falling at the time, showing retail investors remained confident. July's plunge was related to the crash in Korean single-stock leveraged ETFs and market doubts over AI capital expenditure, with margin balances falling by about NT$130 billion in a single month; October's decline was affected by concerns over AI investment and free cash flow of large cloud service providers.
王兆立 noted that under the major bull market, AI themes, market-cap and active ETFs rose strongly, with many retail investors optimistic about TSMC's long-term development but unable to afford a full lot costing over NT$2 million, turning to odd lots instead. Compared with Korean stocks' violent swings from leveraged trading, Taiwan stocks still saw domestic buying despite foreign investor withdrawals. For example, on October 15, foreign investors sold a record NT$3025.55 billion, while 0050 and Yuanta Taiwan 50 2X (00631L) saw single-day net subscriptions of over NT$40 billion, with listed-market margin balances still exceeding NT$600 billion, showing "Taiwan investors held the line."
Leveraged 2X and Active ETFs Surge, High-Dividend ETFs Cool Off
Based on those already listed at the end of last year with at least 1,000 holders at the time, ETFs swept the top 3 by growth: Capital Taiwan Weighted 2X (00685L) ranked first with 5,238.6%, Cathay Taiwan-Korea Tech (00735) second with 1,131.3%, and Yuanta Taiwan 50 2X (00631L) third with 800.7% growth, of which 00685L and 00631L both conducted splits this year. Active ETFs grew from 15 funds on December 26 last year to 42 on October 22 this year, with beneficiaries rising from 698,000 to 4.493 million, up 543.6%, including the Active Uni-President Upgrade 50 (00403A) listed May 12 reaching 785,000 holders in less than half a year.
In contrast, the biggest decliner was Yuanta Taiwan Value High Dividend (00940), down 265,000 holders to 308,000, down 46.3%; Yuanta Taiwan High Dividend Low Volatility (00713) fell by 107,000 to 270,000, down 28.5%. Among common stocks, shipping saw the largest declines, with Evergreen (2603), Yang Ming (2609) and Wan Hai (2615) losing 103,000, 75,000 and 52,000 holders respectively, a combined drop of about 230,000 holders, down 25.3%, while holders of over one million shares rose from 457 to 569, up 112, or 24.5%.