Advertisement
Hong Kong MPF: investors who switched to US stocks miss out on rally as fund rakes in HK$14,000 per member in best performance since 2017
- The funds earned a combined HK$66.4 billion (US$8.5 billion) as of May 21, equivalent to HK$14,000 for each of its members
- Members who shifted their allocations to US equities missed out on a dramatic rally in Hong Kong and China stock funds
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
6
The Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) put in its best performance in seven years in the first five months of 2024, though members who shifted their cash from Hong Kong and China equities to US stock funds have largely missed the rally.
Advertisement
The 379 MPF investment funds earned a combined HK$66.4 billion (US$8.5 billion) as of May 21, according to MPF Ratings, an independent research firm. That is equivalent to HK$14,000 for each of its members.
Hong Kong’s compulsory retirement fund generated an average return of 6.3 per cent, the highest since the same period of 2017.
Not everyone will be happy about the rally. A lot of members shifted the allocation of their assets at the wrong time.
Hong Kong and China stock funds, traditionally the most popular picks among MPF members, soaking up almost a quarter of all assets, saw HK$3.1 billion of net outflow in the first quarter of the year. US stock funds saw inflows of roughly three times that amount, according to MPF ratings.
05:39
Hong Kong stock market falls below 15,000 level, its lowest in 15 months
Hong Kong stock market falls below 15,000 level, its lowest in 15 months
Investors who made that adjustment to their portfolios have missed out on a rally. The Hong Kong and China stock funds gained an average of 7.6 per cent this month as of May 21, having returned 5.9 per cent in April, according to MPF Ratings data. They are the best performers among all funds.
Advertisement