The Taiwan Monthly

Global Connection

The rise of the individual investor and how the TWSE initiatives are making an impact

The growing participation of individual investors in stock markets has become a worldwide trend. The TWSE, with over 60% of trading value from individual investors, is also observing the same trend in Taiwan and in response to this has taken several initiatives to support novice investors.

During the WFE Working Committee Meeting on May 25, Mr. Shin-Chung Chen, TWSE Senior Vice President shared how the exchange prioritizes this fast growing segment and what the TWSE has done to assist them.

Mr. Chen mentioned that the Taiwan capital market has performed remarkably well over the past two years which has attracted many new investors. The number of investors has grown by 20% from 10 to 12 million, while young investors, between the ages of 20 to 30, have increased more than 47%. Therefore, investor education campaigns have taken center stage along with ESG, the Taiwan Innovation Board and a market making mechanism.

To assist fast-growing investors, the TWSE has facilitated the development of a periodic investment plan and introduced “intraday odd lot trading.” These mechanisms make consistent investing and expanded market access available for all investors. In 2021, the TWSE created and designed a brand-new educational website (https://act.twse.com.tw/stayhomelearning/). The content is easy-to-understand with short articles, graphs, videos, and comics. The outreach is not just online; the exchange has also held numerous financial workshops for teachers and seminars on college campuses with famous financial experts as invited speakers. These were strongly attended and advanced the goal of strengthening financial literacy among students and their educators.

Many exchanges in attendance at the WFE Working Committee Meeting also reported bullish markets and an increasing individual investor trend, and further emphasized the importance of investor education. As the Taiwan market continues to change and evolve, the TWSE will constantly look to innovate new ways to serve the need of the market and its investors.