Allianz Asset Management Celebrates One Year in Active ETFs: CIO Sees Taiwan Stocks at Attractive Entry Point

Allianz Asset Management has reached its one-year milestone in the active ETF market, successfully establishing an investment footprint covering high-dividend Taiwan equities, Taiwan growth, and U.S. technology. The firm plans to extend its reach into Asian semiconductors by the end of the third quarter. Amid recent market volatility, Chief Investment Officer Zhang Weimin emphasized that Taiwan's tech sector fundamentals and technological progress remain solid. The second-quarter pullback was not unexpected and remains within most investors' tolerance levels. He noted that stock prices have now corrected to reasonable valuations, making it an ideal time to strategically accumulate positions in AI 'picks and shovels' supply chains across the U.S. and Taiwan.

Regarding the recent market correction in Taiwan equities, Zhang analyzed that there are no fundamental issues with Taiwan's technology sector. The Q2 pullback was expected and manageable for most retail investors, and valuations have now adjusted to fair levels. He revealed that Allianz's team continuously monitors 250 core companies, forecasting a 60% year-on-year growth in overall earnings (EPS) for this year, with at least 25% growth potential in 2027.

With fundamentals steadily improving, he believes short-term volatility should not be a major concern. In fact, he has personally begun adding to his fund positions at lower levels, viewing the current environment as an excellent entry point.

Looking ahead, the global artificial intelligence development wave is still in its early stages. Investment opportunities have expanded from application-layer companies to infrastructure providers that support the entire ecosystem. As major cloud service providers continue to increase capital expenditures, market focus is shifting toward 'picks and shovels' suppliers offering computing power, chips, equipment, and data centers. Compared to application-layer firms, infrastructure suppliers generally exhibit higher demand visibility and longer growth cycles.

Globally, the U.S. market centers on NVIDIA, extending into high-bandwidth memory and networking equipment. Taiwan, leveraging its advanced process technology, CoWoS packaging, AI servers, and thermal solutions, holds a critical position in the semiconductor supply chain. U.S. and Taiwan-based companies are poised to benefit simultaneously from dual drivers: corporate earnings growth and expanding capital expenditures.

Over the past year, global financial markets have faced multiple challenges, including tariff policy uncertainty, geopolitical risks, and deleveraging. Zhang pointed out that it is precisely in such volatile environments—marked by sharp rallies and sell-offs—that the value of active investment strategies becomes most evident. Allianz's products have demonstrated resilience through active research and dynamic rebalancing. For example, 00984A focuses on dividend quality and corporate fundamentals in high-dividend Taiwan stocks; 00993A captures growth opportunities from Taiwan's industrial upgrading; and 00402A targets long-term beneficiaries of U.S. tech innovation and AI trends. The growth in investor numbers and fund assets reflects rising market recognition of the value of active stock selection.

Zhang stated that active ETFs have evolved from niche market products into essential tools for investors to participate in capital markets. A fourth active ETF is expected by the end of Q3, further expanding the investment scope into the Asian semiconductor industry. Additionally, Allianz continues to innovate in product design. Beyond existing quarterly and annual distribution models, the firm plans to evaluate a non-distribution structure, aiming to maximize long-term compounding through reinvestment and meet diverse investor needs for wealth accumulation.