Taipei: Funds managed by Taiwan’s Bureau of Labor Funds lost about NT$64.1 billion (US$2.06 billion) in the first quarter of this year, as global market volatility fueled by tariff threats from the Trump administration weighed on performance, according to the bureau.

According to Focus Taiwan, the bureau reported that the funds experienced significant losses in March, amounting to NT$171.6 billion, which erased a NT$107.5 billion profit from the previous two months. This left the funds with a loss of NT$64.1 billion for the entire first quarter.

The bureau noted that the first quarter saw a negative return of 0.94 percent. This downturn can be attributed to the uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariff policy, which led to a 10.15 percent plunge in the Taiex and a 1.32 percent drop in the MSCI World Index.

The bureau’s investment strategy included allocating 42.01 percent of its funds to domestic markets and 57.99 percent to overseas investments. The total value of the funds managed, which includes the Labor Pension Fund, the Labor Retirement Fund, the Labor Insurance Fund, the Employment Insurance Fund, and the Arrear Wage Payment Fund, was approximately NT$7.24 trillion as of the end of March.

The new Labor Pension Fund, which was launched in 2015, was the largest among these funds, totaling NT$4.79 trillion by March, with a first-quarter return of minus 0.74 percent. In contrast, the Labor Retirement Fund, established in 1984, held NT$1.08 trillion in assets at the end of March and showed a return of minus 1.88 percent for the first quarter.

The Bureau of Labor Funds stated that it will continue to monitor the impact of U.S. tariff policies and rising inflation on the markets. The bureau aims to adjust its investment strategies accordingly to improve future returns.

Additionally, the Bureau of Public Service Pension Fund reported that the Public Service Pension Fund experienced a loss of NT$25.09 billion in the first quarter of 2025, with a return of minus 2.48 percent.