How to invest in TSEC Weighted index funds in 2023

By:

James Knight

James is a lead editor for Invezz, where he covers topics from across the financial world, from the stock market, to cryptocurrency, to macroeconomic markets. His ... read more.

Updated: May 12, 2023

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It only takes a few minutes to invest in the TSEC Weighted index. One of the simplest and most popular ways to invest is to buy shares in a Vanguard TSEC Weighted ETF through an online trading platform.

Where can I invest in the TSEC Weighted index?

According to our expert research, eToro is the best ETF broker to invest in TSEC Weighted index funds. 

Both TSEC Weighted ETFs and TSEC Weighted CFDs are available to invest in through eToro .

Here are three more places to buy the TSEC Weighted, ranked according to their cost, security, and features.

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How do I invest in the TSEC index?

The easiest way is to sign up to a stock broker, open an investment account, and buy shares in an TSEC Weighted ETF or CFD. This guide explains how to do it:

Step 1. Sign up to eToro

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We recommend using eToro to invest in TSEC Weighted. Sign up for a brokerage account and deposit some money. You may need to supply a form of photo ID to verify the account.

Most Popular

1

• Save

Min. Deposit

$ 10

Best offer

User Score

10

Up to $240 bonus!

Deposit with ACA, Wire, Pay with my bank

Invest for dividends and get payout on stocks on Ex-Dividend day

Start Trading more info

Payment Methods:

Bank Transfer, Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal, Wire Transfer

Full Regulations:

CySEC, FCA

77% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

Step 2. Decide how to buy TSEC Weighted

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This boils down to choosing between an TSEC Weighted ETF or CFD. ETFs are generally better suited to investors who want to passively track the TSEC Weighted’s performance. CFDs offer a greater range of trading options: you can use leverage, short the index, or buy and sell it outside of trading hours.

Step 3. Invest in the TSEC Weighted

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Sign into your trading account and search for the TSEC Weighted. Hit the ‘buy’ button and enter the details of your purchase, such as how much you want to spend. Hit ‘buy’ again to execute the trade.

Step 4. Monitor your investment

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When you buy a CFD, the trade goes through more or less instantly, and you’ll be able to see your new open position in your trading account. ETF purchases can take longer, and if you buy outside of traditional trading hours it won’t go through until the next morning.

Your trading account will show the price change in the TSEC Weighted since you bought it, so you can see your profit/loss at a glance. Use that information, along with your own research, to decide when to sell the TSEC Weighted and close your position, ideally at a profit!.

The different ways to invest in the TSEC

As we mentioned above, there are numerous ways to put your money into the TSEC Weighted. ETFs and CFDs are the simplest options for beginners, but there are alternatives. Here’s a brief overview of each option and who it’s best suited for.

TSEC Weighted ETFs

An ETF (exchange-traded fund) is an investment fund traded on a stock exchange, much like a stock. Exchange traded funds can hold different assets, such as individual stocks, bonds, or commodities, or serve as a proxy for a stock market index.

An TSEC Weighted ETF is one way of investing in the TSEC Weighted. It’s simply an investment fund that mirrors the performance of the TSEC Weighted. When you buy shares in the fund, the value of your investment will rise or fall with the TSEC Weighted itself. 

ETFs are ideal for new investors because they have a very low minimum investment. You can start with a few pounds and get exposure to some of the world’s largest companies. They’re also practical if you plan on trading the TSEC Weighted index, because you can buy or sell shares in the fund throughout the day.

Examples of popular TSEC ETFs

• iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF (NYSEARCA:EWT)

TSEC Weighted index funds

An index or mutual fund is an investment fund that aims to track the performance of a stock market index, such as the TSEC Weighted. It’s very similar to an ETF, in that there are low management fees and you can buy shares through your online broker.

However, there are a couple of differences. TSEC Weighted index funds are only priced at the end of each trading day, so you can buy or sell shares in the fund once per day. There may also be a higher barrier to entry, through a much larger minimum investment when you invest in TSEC Weighted index funds.

That means an TSEC Weighted mutual fund is better suited for long term investors with a higher initial budget, where the infrequent trading and barriers to entry are far less of an issue.

TSEC Weighted CFDs

CFDs (contracts for difference) are a way to speculate on TSEC Weighted price changes with more flexibility than if you use an ETF or index fund. A CFD is a ‘derivative’, which means it gets its value from the underlying asset – in this case the TSEC Weighted – but it’s separate from it.

As a result, CFDs can be leveraged, where you borrow money to multiply the size of the trade, or they can be used to go ‘short’, where you place a trade on the index to fall in value. You can also buy and sell them outside of regular trading hours.

All of this means TSEC Weighted CFDs offer the potential to outperform a fund that passively tracks the TSEC Weighted’s performance. Of course, you can also underperform it as well. Tools like leverage and shorting introduce a lot more risk, and are best left to experienced traders.

TSEC Weighted futures

Futures contracts are agreements to buy or sell the TSEC at an agreed price on a set date in the future. TSEC Weighted futures are a means to predict how you think the index is going to perform over a set time frame, such as the next three or six months.

Most futures contracts involve leverage, so you only put up a small part of the total trade value (the margin) when you buy one. That makes futures more risky, and they require a bit more financial expertise to understand as well.

Some traders use futures as a hedge against the performance of stocks they own. For instance, if you own stocks that are part of the TSEC Weighted then you might want to short the TSEC Weighted so that you still make some money if the price falls.

TSEC Weighted stocks

Another way to invest in the TSEC Weighted is to buy shares in the individual stocks that the index tracks. It isn’t practical to buy every share in the index, but you can invest directly into a few of the most heavily weighted stocks in the TSEC Weighted in order to get broad exposure to its performance.

The most heavily weighted stocks in the TSEC Weighted tend to be the largest companies by market capitalisation. If you invest directly in those largest stocks, you gain exposure to the index without taking on the risk of all the underlying companies.

One reason to do this is that these larger companies with the highest market cap dominate the index anyway, so that it can give you the impression of a diversified portfolio while actually being reliant on the performance of those particular stocks.

For the TSEC Weighted index, the largest stocks you might choose to invest in are:

The flip side of investing directly like this is that you lose the diversification and stability that comes with buying into an entire index. It requires much more hands-on management to do your own stock picking, so it’s best suited to more experienced investors.

How much does it cost to invest in the TSEC Weighted index?

From $0 to $5, depending on how you invest. For each option, you must consider the cost of buying the actual asset, whether that’s an ETF, index fund, CFD, or share, plus the fees associated with it.

*A fee comparison of 3 leading brokers for example purposes

ETFs and CFDs are generally the cheapest option overall, as they have low fees and a low minimum investment. Index funds and mutual funds have low fees but may have a high minimum investment. Buying individual stocks is the most expensive option in absolute terms, because the share price of a single large company is often more than $100.

All options are likely to include a trading fee, which you pay each time you make a transaction. Some trading platforms offer zero-fee trading, with others it may be a few dollars. 

Then ETFs and index funds each have their own expense ratio. Expense ratios refer to an annual management fee, charged as a percentage of your total investment. Expense ratios are usually no more than 0.05%, so if you invest $1,000, you would pay $5 per year in management fees.

Should I invest in the TSEC Weighted index? 

Yes, TSEC Weighted investing is a great choice if you’re looking for a safer investment with more price stability compared to picking individual stocks. It gives you an instantly diverse portfolio with exposure to a broad area of the stock market.

The flip side is that you have less control over which companies you invest in. An index committee decides how the index works, and you can’t pick and choose the underlying companies you like the most. The TSEC Weighted is better suited to hands-off investors, compared to those who have the skills, experience, and desire to pick their own stocks.

What are the advantages of investing in the TSEC Weighted index?

An index provides instant stock market diversification, where you spread your risk across a large number of underlying companies, rather than one or two. Here are some more reasons why you might want to invest in the TSEC Weighted index:

• Invest in the tech-heavy Taiwan index. Taiwan is a tech hub that hosts tech companies that play an important role on the world stage. The most significant of these is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, or TSMC, which builds semiconductors. Investing in the TSEC Taiwan index can be a way to invest in tech infrastructure.
• Get a piece of more than 700 Taiwanese companies. There are 750+ companies on the TSEC Taiwan Weighted index. Investing in the index is a much more affordable way to get exposure to them compared to buying individual stocks in lots of companies.
• Create a diversified portfolio. The benefit of investing in such a large index is that it includes companies in lots of different sectors, and its performance isn’t as susceptible to peaks and troughs as an individual company would be. By buying lots of stocks, you balance out stock market volatility.
• Get access to the Asian market with strong ties to the US. Taiwan is an important country in US foreign policy and it has close links to the United States as a result. Many companies have a foot in both eastern and western markets as a result.
• No need to pick individual Taiwanese stocks. Investing in the Taiwan index takes the pressure off finding individual companies to invest in. You don’t need to spend as much time, or have as much experience, in order to be successful. Putting money in an index is a relatively stress-free endeavour that’s ideal for beginners.

What are the disadvantages of investing in the TSEC Weighted index?

The main risk of investing in the TSEC Weighted is that all the underlying companies are related in some way, so a broader economic downturn that affected the entire country would likely affect many stocks in the index at the same time. Here are some more risks of TSEC Weighted investing.

• All the companies on the TSEC are based in Taiwan. An index where all the companies are based in the same country runs the risk that they’re all affected by the same issue, like an economic crash or a natural disaster. Indices give you diversification across industries, but not geographical diversity.
• Taiwan is a flashpoint in US-China relations. China considers Taiwan to be its own territory, while the US is committed to protecting its independence. The country is a potential flashpoint between the two countries, and the uncertainty makes it more of a risky investment.
• There’s no way to beat the market when you invest in the Taiwan index. Stock indices like the TSEC Taiwan are viewed as the market average performance to beat. If you invest in the index as a whole, rather than picking your own stocks, you can’t outperform the index (although nor can you significantly underperform it).

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