Taiwan's Labor Retirement Fund achieves new high in returns, plans to expand overseas investment strategies?

Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor’s Labor Fund Management Bureau has recently announced plans to further expand overseas investment strategies. According to Bloomberg reports, the labor retirement fund, which currently manages assets totaling NT$7.79 trillion (approximately USD 247 billion), is considering inviting professional asset management firms to participate in bidding within the next few months. The potential mandates to be awarded mainly cover infrastructure-listed stocks and index-based fixed income investment strategies. This follows the appointment of four firms last June and reflects the fund’s ongoing efforts to seek external professional management for its overseas investments, demonstrating a prudent diversification strategy amid global financial market volatility.

Introduction to the Labor Fund and Performance

Taiwan’s Labor Fund Management Bureau is responsible for managing the substantial labor retirement funds, with total assets reaching NT$7.79 trillion. As one of Taiwan’s largest retirement funds, its investment moves are highly indicative of market trends. In 2025, benefiting from a strong upward momentum in the overall stock market, the labor retirement fund achieved its best annual performance ever, with an investment return of NT$1.1177 trillion and a yield of 16.06%.

To maintain steady growth and reduce reliance on a single market, the fund has a long-standing practice of regularly engaging in overseas investments through professional firms to preserve and grow assets. According to last year’s statistics, approximately 60% of the fund’s assets are entrusted to external managers.

Details of the Current Overseas Mandates

Sources familiar with the matter revealed that the labor retirement fund is currently evaluating two new overseas mandates. The first is for “listed infrastructure stocks,” which typically offer stable cash flow and inflation resistance. The second is for “index-based fixed income strategies,” mainly aimed at providing steady interest income and balancing portfolio volatility. Last June, the fund selected four firms, including BlackRock, each allocated USD 400 million for overseas management, demonstrating a clear direction toward deepening its global diversification.

What Does the Record-High Profit and Strategy Shift Mean?

Although the related mandate plans are actively progressing, internal deliberations remain confidential, and future plans may be adjusted based on market conditions.

According to the latest data released in early March, January’s returns reached NT$394.7 billion, setting a new record with a yield of 5.28%. The overall size of the labor fund reached NT$7.9771 trillion. The new labor retirement fund earned NT$261.88 billion, and with approximately 12.92 million active accounts participating in profit sharing, each worker could receive an average dividend of about NT$20,000.

Investing in assets with stable cash flow also seems to be paving the way for future market uncertainties. After achieving over 10% returns for four consecutive years, the labor retirement fund continues to diversify its portfolio to mitigate risks amid global financial market fluctuations.

This article, “Taiwan Labor Retirement Fund Hits New High, Plans to Expand Overseas Investment,” originally appeared on Chain News ABMedia.