Hong Kong’s MPF wipes out last year’s losses with strong first-half gains thanks to stocks rally, easing of trade war
- The compulsory pension scheme returned 8.4 per cent in the first half, recovering last year’s 8.2 per cent losses
- Equities funds led the gains during a roller-coaster six months in which the MPF mirrored the ups and downs of the US-China trade conflict
Hong Kong’s compulsory pension scheme has clawed back all of last year’s losses as a global stock market rally and an easing in trade tensions boosted returns in the first half of 2019.
The HK$813 billion (US$104.43 billion) Mandatory Provident Fund on average achieved 8.4 per cent growth in the first half of this year, according to Lipper, which is a part of financial markets data provider Refinitiv.
The fund lost 8.2 per cent last year, its worst decline since 2011 when markets were hit by the European bond crisis.
“The investment markets, surprisingly, have performed better than expected given all the uncertainties around the trade war, Brexit and global economies,” said Philip Tso Wai-Pong, head of Hong Kong institutional at Allianz Global Investors.
The MPF is a compulsory retirement scheme that covers 2.9 million Hong Kong workers and self-employed people.