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Far from ‘lazy’, MPF default strategy aims for low-risk, long-term returns to suit ageing investors

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An electronic board displays the Hang Seng Index figures in Central on June 19. The MPF Default Investment Strategy portfolio has a bond component to minimise volatility when equities underperform. Photo: Dickson Lee

Some of the views expressed in ongoing media coverage of the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Default Investment Strategy contain several persistent misperceptions about the important initiative which, for the benefit of those investing for retirement, should be dispelled.

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Launched in April 2017, the MPF Default Investment Strategy (DIS) offers members a fee-controlled, standardised, globally diversified investment vehicle. The portfolio is de-risked to a higher fixed income allocation as investors age.

Capping fees on DIS funds is key to ensuring that scheme members can keep more of the returns their low-cost investments may generate: you can’t control the markets, but you can control the fees that you pay.

In the Chinese-language press, the DIS has been portrayed in an unduly negative light, as the “lazy fund”. However, DIS is not just for novice investors or people who don’t want to make a choice.

Meanwhile, other commentators have compared the performance of the DIS with actively managed higher-cost Hong Kong equity MPF funds, noting that the latter have outperformed since the launch of the strategy.

What does the MPF reform mean for you?

An elderly woman crosses a road in the Central district of Hong Kong on May 18. The MPF’s Default Investment Strategy is designed to reduce risk as the investor gets older. Photo: Fung Chang
An elderly woman crosses a road in the Central district of Hong Kong on May 18. The MPF’s Default Investment Strategy is designed to reduce risk as the investor gets older. Photo: Fung Chang
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