Taiwan FSC Open to Reviewing Fund Managers’ Phone Curbs

Taiwan’s asset managers require fund managers to surrender personal phones during local trading hours, a practice nicknamed a “phone farm.” The restrictions were tightened in 2024 to curb insider trading and front-running through personal or nominee accounts. That same year, six former fund managers at four investment firms were indicted over trades placed through relatives and friends. The rule, which applies to buy-side asset managers but not formally to banks, brokerages or insurers, has become a test of balancing market integrity with the industry’s push to retain talent.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan, the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan and asset managers have called for changes, citing emergency-access and recruitment concerns. On July 23, 2026, Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission said it had not received a concrete proposal from the Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Association. The regulator said it would review any submission only alongside safeguards against insider trading and front-running. Managers currently hand over phones before the market opens at 9 a.m. and retrieve them after the 1:30 p.m. close; no timetable for easing the rule has been set.