Despite mixed July financial markets, labor funds post year-to-date gains

Taipei, Sept. 2 (CNA) Despite a mixed performance on the global financial markets in July, labor funds managed by Taiwan's Bureau of Labor Funds of the Ministry of Labor still saw gains of NT$86.4 billion (US$2.7 billion) in the month.

In a statement, the bureau said the funds' accumulated gains, which reflect increases (or decreases) in the value of assets in the funds' portfolios and income on investments, totaled NT$885.7 billion in the first seven months of this year, up NT$86.4 billion from the end of June.

The bureau said the global financial markets were interrupted in July by uncertainties created by the change of the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. presidential election and disappointing earnings reported by American companies.

However, moderating inflation and strong gross domestic product figures in the second quarter in the United States still lent some support to the global financial markets in the month, the bureau said.

In July, the Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, fell 3.62 percent, while Taiwan's weighting in the MSCI World Index rose 1.61 percent with the MSCI Emerging Markets up 0.25 percent.

Still, the Taiex soared 23.81 percent in the first seven months of this year, while the MSCI World Index gained 13.10 percent with the MSCI Emerging Markets up 7.68 percent.

According to the bureau, 57.28 percent of the investments made by the labor funds were made overseas and the remaining 42.72 percent was invested domestically as of the end of July.

The combined value of the funds managed by the bureau, including the Labor Pension Fund, the Labor Retirement Fund, the Labor Insurance Fund, the Employment Insurance Fund, and the Arrear Wage Payment Fund, totaled NT$6.85 trillion as of the end of July.

Based on that value, the gains represented a rate of return of 14.33 percent in the first seven months of this year, according to the bureau.

The value of assets in the new Labor Pension Fund, launched in 2015, totaled NT$4.47 trillion at the end of July, the highest of any fund, and its rate of return so far this year to the end of July was 14.24 percent, the bureau said.

The Labor Retirement Fund, which has been in place since 1984, had about NT$1.06 trillion in assets as of the end of July, with a rate of return of 16.42 percent, the bureau said.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Public Service Pension Fund said on Monday that the Public Service Pension Fund managed by the bureau recorded NT$129.08 billion in gains in the first seven months of 2024, with a rate of return at 14.54 percent.