Million-Holder Securities Rise to 8
According to Taiwan Depository & Clearing Corporation data, on December 26 last year 7 securities had over one million holders, with Yuanta Taiwan 50 ranking first at 2.036 million, the only security to exceed 2 million. By October 22 this year, the original 7 remained on the list, with UMC newly joining the million-shareholder ranks, bringing the total to 8. As of October 22, 0050 held the top spot with about 3.72 million beneficiaries, TSMC ranked second with 3.167 million shareholders, followed by Yuanta High Dividend with 1.741 million, Cathay Sustainable High Dividend with 1.707 million, Capital Taiwan Select High Dividend with 1.501 million, China Steel with 1.293 million, Hon Hai with 1.155 million, and UMC with 1.094 million.
Odd-Lot Investors Support TSMC Popularity
Among securities already listed on December 26 last year, 0050 led with an increase of 1.685 million beneficiaries, up 82.8%. TSMC shareholders increased by 1.312 million, up 70.7%, including an increase of 1.203 million holders of less than one lot, with odd-lot investors rising from 75.1% to 81.9% of total shareholders. Active Uni-President Taiwan Stock Growth ranked third with an increase of 746,000 beneficiaries, up 359.1%. Senior securities analyst Wang Zhaoli noted that amid Taiwan's major bull market, AI, market-cap and active ETFs rose strongly, and many retail investors are optimistic about TSMC's long-term outlook but cannot afford one lot costing over NT$2 million, so they start with odd lots.
Index Swings Sharply While Margin Balances Stay Elevated
Taiwan's benchmark index climbed from about 29,000 points at the start of the year, with intraday highs approaching 50,000 points, amid sharp volatility. Taiwan Stock Exchange data shows that as of October 22, there were 17 trading days with closes up over 1,000 points and 12 days down over 1,000 points, with the largest-ever single-day gain of 3186.45 points and largest-ever drop of 2953.71 points both occurring in July. Wang Zhaoli analyzed that the sharp March decline was affected by the US-Iran conflict, while June reflected AI valuation corrections and dashed expectations for US Federal Reserve rate cuts, when margin balances rose instead of falling. The July plunge was linked to the crash of Korean single-stock leveraged ETFs and concerns over AI capital spending, with margin balances falling by about NT$130 billion in a single month, while the October decline reflected concerns over AI investment and free cash flow of large cloud service providers.
Leveraged 2x and Active ETFs Expand Rapidly
Wang Zhaoli believes that compared with Korean stocks shaken by leveraged trading, Taiwan stocks still saw domestic buying despite foreign outflows. For example, on October 15 foreign investors sold a record NT$3025.55 billion in Taiwan stocks, while 0050 and Yuanta Taiwan 50 2x saw single-day net subscriptions of over NT$40 billion, with listed-market margin balances still exceeding NT$600 billion, showing Taiwan investors provided support. Calculated on ETFs already listed at the end of last year with at least 1,000 holders at the time, ETFs took the top 3 gainers: Capital Taiwan Weighted 2x led with 5238.6%, Cathay Taiwan-Korea Technology was second with 1131.3%, and Yuanta Taiwan 50 2x grew 800.7% to rank third, with both 2x funds conducting splits this year. Active ETFs increased from 15 on December 26 last year to 42, with beneficiaries rising from 698,000 to 4.493 million, up 543.6%, while Active Uni-President Upgrade 50, listed May 12, already reached 785,000 in less than half a year.
High-Dividend ETFs and Shipping Stocks Lose Holders
The largest decline was Yuanta Taiwan Value High Dividend, down 265,000 to 308,000 holders from December 26 last year, a 46.3% drop, followed by Yuanta Taiwan High Dividend Low Volatility, down 107,000 to 270,000, a 28.5% drop. Among common stocks, the top 4 decliners were all shipping stocks, with Evergreen Marine, Yang Ming and Wan Hai down 103,000, 75,000 and 52,000 respectively, a combined drop of about 230,000 for the three container liners, down 25.3%. However, shareholders holding over 1 million shares in the top tier rose from 457 to 569, an increase of 112, up 24.5%. Wang Zhaoli analyzed that the increase in large investors may reflect optimism about industry trends, while the overall decline in shareholders may be related to profit-taking or rotation toward AI themes.