Hong Kong’s MPF pension scheme poised for best year since 2009
Funds in the retirement programme reported average gains of 15.35 per cent in the first nine months of this year, according to a report, putting them on track for the highest return in eight years
Hong Kong’s pension scheme, the Mandatory Provident Fund, is on track to report its best performance in eight years after returns of 15.35 per cent in the first nine months of this year, according to data from fund research company Thomson Reuters Lipper.
If the 481 funds in the MPF scheme can maintain the same level of returns in the remaining three months, the MPF scheme as a whole would have its best year since 2009, when it posted a return of 25.89 per cent.
That would be a sharp improvement on last year’s return of 1.26 per cent and the previous year’s loss of 3.1 per cent.
“The global stock markets have been doing well in the first nine months of this year, which has benefited the MPF,” said Ben Kwong Man-bun, a director at broker KGI Investment.
Kwong said the stock markets could continue to gain in the next three months in Asia and Europe, with economic data supporting the growth scenario, and that would help the MPF to report a strong year.
Lipper said Hong Kong equity funds were the best performers in the first nine months, with an average return of 29.19 per cent, beating the city’s Hang Seng stock index, which rose 25 per cent in the same period to be the best performing market worldwide.
The second-best performers were Greater China equity funds, which reported average returns of 28.94 per cent, while Asia excluding Japan funds ranked third with a 26.97 per cent gain, Lipper said.