Taiwan’s ‘Hidden Gem’ Indexes Await ETF Launches

Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission has backed the Taiwan Index Plus Corp.’s launch of four “Hidden Gem” indexes to draw investor attention to quality stocks that receive relatively limited market interest. The initiative matters because its broader impact depends on whether asset managers turn the benchmarks into investable products, such as exchange-traded funds or mutual funds, that can channel capital toward the selected companies.

No ETF, fund or other linked product has emerged so far, prompting questions over whether the four indexes can gain commercial traction. The FSC’s Securities and Futures Bureau said product launches are business decisions for financial firms, which must assess investor demand and market timing. Companies will make announcements once they judge conditions to be mature, the bureau said, without providing a target number of products or a launch date.