Fund managers quit to trade their own money in Taiwan stock boom
Limits on trading on personal accounts and stringent checks at work for fund managers are the main factors.
Taiwan's professional stock pickers are experiencing a unique case of FOMO (fear of missing out) due to the world's biggest equity rally, according to the source. Fund managers and equity analysts are leaving their prestigious finance jobs to trade their own money on personal accounts, despite regulations barring them from owning individual stocks in these accounts.
The benchmark stock index surged 62% in 2026, adding approximately US$1.8 trillion (S$2.31 trillion) in market capitalisation. Some stocks, particularly those benefiting from the artificial intelligence trade, have more than doubled in value. This trend is fueled by the allure of faster career progression and the potential for large bonuses through profit-sharing models.
As seasoned professionals abandon traditional money managers, they often end up at less-regulated trading firms that allow greater freedom for personal trading. This has led to a dwindling pool of skilled recruits for institutional money managers, forcing them to accept less experienced employees. The disparity in earnings between Taiwan's portfolio managers and their Hong Kong counterparts has become more pronounced, with Taiwanese managers earning around US$124,354 to US$310,884 annually, compared to US$229,372 to US$637,144 in Hong Kong.
The trend is becoming more acute due to the breadth of Taiwan's stock-market surge, with around 10% of Taiex shares more than doubling in value.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
