In 2025, after experiencing a mid-year tariff shock from Trump, the global stock markets rebounded strongly, with North Asian and Latin American markets standing out the most. Fund performance varied across different types, but gold and precious metals equity funds were the most impressive, delivering an average annual return exceeding 160%!
Global Markets Review for 2025
The MSCI Global Index closed up more than 21%, marking the sixth time in seven years with double-digit gains. This was also the best single-year performance since a strong 24.05% rise in 2019. Among major regions, North Asia and Latin America showed the most outstanding overall performance, while European stocks also surged significantly. Although the U.S. stock market hit new highs repeatedly, its performance lagged behind due to concentrated AI-related risks and higher volatility compared to the previous two years. The main drivers of the global stock market rally were the AI boom, geopolitical changes, a looser monetary environment following the Federal Reserve’s resumption of rate cuts, and resource demand from some emerging markets. However, market volatility was intense, making trading very challenging.
The AI boom continues to heat up, with U.S. stocks hitting record highs. U.S. tech stocks have surged strongly for three consecutive years. However, the hot money effect has also spilled over into the North Asian markets, which are highly connected to AI. According to Lipper statistics, the South Korean stock market, which ranked at the bottom among Asia-Pacific markets two years ago and plunged nearly 10% in a single year, has rebounded significantly. This turnaround is attributed to President Lee Jae-myung’s election, which led to increased government spending, improved corporate governance, support for economic growth, and enhanced stock market capitalization. Additionally, South Korea’s semiconductor industry has capitalized heavily on AI opportunities. As a result, the South Korean KOSPI index made a remarkable comeback, soaring 75.6% last year—the highest gain among global stock markets.
Other North Asian markets also performed notably well: Hong Kong stocks rose 27.8% for the year, Japanese stocks gained 26.2%, Taiwanese stocks increased 25.7%, and mainland Chinese stocks climbed 18.4%. In European markets, Spain’s stock market outperformed the traditional leaders Germany, France, and the UK, leading European stocks with a 49.3% gain for the full year. In the U.S., the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index was the strongest performer, surging 42.2% for the year. The NASDAQ rose 20.4% last year, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 16.4% and 13%, respectively. In Southeast Asia, Vietnam’s stock market led with a 40.9% gain, whereas Thailand and the Philippines saw declines, ranking at the bottom among Asia-Pacific markets.
Top LGC Performance for 2025
According to Lipper statistics, as of December 31, 2025, there are a total of 2,050 registered and approved funds available for sale in Taiwan (including ETFs), covering 159 Lipper global classifications. Among these, as many as 147 classified funds posted positive returns for the entire year, while only 12 classifications recorded negative returns.
In the equity fund category, international gold prices surged nearly 70% throughout last year. Equity Sector Gold & Precious Metals, which invest in gold mining stocks, outperformed significantly with an annual return of 16%, far surpassing the gold price and standing out among all. Other notable performers included Equity Korea (+83.8%), Equity Iberia (+54.6%), Equity Italy (+46.3%), Equity Emerging Markets Latin America (+43.4%), Equity Nordic (+41.5%), Equity Sector Materials (+41.0%), T Equity Taiwan Sm&Mid Cap (+40.9%), and Equity Brazil (+40.5%), all delivering impressive average annual returns.
Other popular investment types such as Equity Sector Information Technology achieved an average annual return of 25.3% last year. Equity US funds averaged 9% for the year, while Taiwan equity funds reached an average of 35%. The worst performer was the Indian small and mid-cap equity funds, which declined by an average of 16.3% over the year.
Equity Iberian Funds Performance Analysis
In the first half of this year, the Taiwan stock market faced major challenges such as reciprocal tariffs imposed by the United States and a sharp appreciation of the New Taiwan Dollar. At the end of March and early April, the main market index once plunged by about 5,000 points. However, with a significant global expansion in AI capital expenditures, Taiwan’s technology supply chain became a primary beneficiary, driving a rapid rebound in the Taiwan stock market. The index climbed back to a historic high, soaring nearly 6,000 points for the year and closing at 28,963.6 points, setting records for both the closing index and the highest year-end index in history. Taiwan stock funds that performed exceptionally well last year include: JKO Taiwan Fund (+73.5%), Allianz Global Investors Taiwan Technology Fund (+69%), TCB Taiwan Equity Fund A TWD (+67.3%), TCB Taiwan High Technology Fund (+66.4%), Nomura Taiwan Growth Selection Focus Fund (+66%), Nomura Taiwan Growth Selection Fund (+65.7%), and Fubon Jih Sun Fund (+64.1%).
In terms of bond funds, Bond ZAR topped the charts for the second consecutive year with an average annual return of 30%. Other high-performing bond fund categories included Bond Convertibles Europe (+23.1%), Bond EUR High Yield (+13.6%), Bond Emerging Markets Global LC (+13.6%), and Bond Global High Yield EUR (+11.7%). Bond US Government had a modest average annual return of only 1%, while Bond JPY funds saw a significant decline, dropping 10% on average for the year, ranking at the bottom.
Figure 1: Top LGC Performance RFS TW for 2025
Source：LSEG Lipper, as of 2025/12/31, in TWD
