Labor funds post gains of over NT$1 trillion in 2024

Taipei, Feb. 3 (CNA) Benefiting from a global stock market boom, funds managed by Taiwan's Bureau of Labor Funds posted gains of over NT$1 trillion (US$30.33 billion), according to data released by the bureau on Monday.

The funds' "accumulated gains," which reflect increases (or decreases) in the value of assets in the funds' portfolios and income from investments, totaled about NT$1.043 trillion last year after an increase of only NT$10 billion in December.

That translated to a rate of return of 16.48 percent in 2024, the data showed.

The bureau said global financial markets were bolstered by strong demand for AI applications, but that was offset to some extent by the uncertainties caused by changes in the monetary policies of major central banks and geopolitical tensions.

In 2024, the Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's weighted index, rose 28.47 percent and the MSCI World Index also gained 17.49 percent, while the Bloomberg Barclay Global Aggregate Bond Index fell 1.69 percent.

According to the bureau, 57.67 percent of the investments made by the labor funds were made overseas, and the remaining 42.33 percent was invested domestically.

The combined value of the funds managed by the bureau, which include the Labor Pension Fund, the Labor Retirement Fund, the Labor Insurance Fund, the Employment Insurance Fund, and the Arrear Wage Payment Fund, totaled NT$7.05 trillion as of the end of 2024.

The value of assets in the new Labor Pension Fund, launched in 2015, totaled NT$4.66 trillion at the end of December, the highest of any fund, and its rate of return for the year stood at 16.16 percent, the bureau said.

The Labor Retirement Fund, which has been in place since 1984, had about NT$1.07 trillion in assets as of the end of 2024, with a rate of return of 19.36 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 a new high of about NT$160 billion in gains in 2024, equal to a rate of return of 17.49 percent.