The takeaway
Franklin FTSE Taiwan ETF shows a slight seasonal lean over 9 years of data — strongest in May (+2.7%) and softest in April (+0.4%).
Right now
In July, the fund has risen 63% of years, averaging +2.3% — essentially in line with the S&P 500.
The full picture
Franklin FTSE Taiwan ETF's most dependable month has been May, higher in 6 of 8 years; April has been its least reliable, up just 38% of the time.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win rate % | ||||||||||||
| Median return % | ||||||||||||
| 2025 | ||||||||||||
| 2024 | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | ||||||||||||
| 2022 | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | ||||||||||||
| 2020 | ||||||||||||
| 2019 | ||||||||||||
| 2018 | ||||||||||||
| 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Month by month
The fund's clearest edge over the S&P 500 lands in May (+2.0 pts); it has trailed the market most in March (−2.4 pts).
“vs S&P” is Franklin FTSE Taiwan ETF’s average for a month minus the S&P 500’s average for that same month — isolating Franklin FTSE Taiwan ETF’s own seasonal edge from broad market drift.
Reality check
Over the last 5 years, May has closed higher 80% of the time versus 75% across the last 9 years — the pattern is strengthening.
Figures are the typical (median) May return and how often it rose — the last 5 years versus the last 9(the heatmap’s default window). This verdict stays anchored to that 9-year window even if you zoom the chart, so it never disagrees with the badges above.
In plain English
Dependability is the through-line here. May stands out, higher in 6 of 8 Mays, but it heads a clutch of months that pull the year reliably upward.
Its average (+2.7%) and median (+2.9%) land within a hair of each other — the tell of steady, year-after-year gains rather than one outlier doing the work. Crucially, the gain is the fund's own rather than a rising tide's: May has cleared the S&P 500 by +2.0 points above the index. That consistency sets it apart from the field, where the average stock manages May only about 55% of the time.
The strength clusters rather than stands alone — May–August forms a firm stretch that carries much of the year. At the other end of the calendar, April is the year's quietest corner, essentially flat on average, and the edge isn't year-round — the fund has trailed the S&P 500 in March, October, and April. Its roughest month on record was a −15.4% March in 2020 — a reminder of how hard even a seasonal name can fall.
If anything it has sharpened recently — the last five Mays run ahead of the earlier years.
The takeaway is less about when to buy than what to expect: May aside, the fund's months offer little reliable tilt. With a short 9-year record, the signal is best held loosely.
Short answers on the fund's best month (May), its worst (April), and whether it really trades seasonally.
Only mildly. The fund's months are fairly even — May is the firmest (+2.7%) and April the softest (+0.4%), a narrow spread that points to weak seasonality rather than a strong calendar effect.
May has been the strongest, averaging +2.7% and closing higher in 6 of 8 years since 2017.
It's the weakest month, but it has still averaged a small gain (+0.4%) — quiet rather than genuinely bad.
Explore
These names have the strongest July track records on record — a starting point for comparison.
Before you trade