Hong Kong's MPF gains US$4.5 billion in first quarter, or US$936 for each member
The 4.75 million members of Hong Kong's
Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) earned an average of HK$7,300 (US$936) in the first quarter of this year, as the pension fund got a boost from
a stock-market rally
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On Thursday, the MPF reported a HK$34.8 billion investment return in the first quarter, according to data from MPF Ratings, an independent research firm.
The MPF's 379 constituent funds generated an average return of 2.7 per cent in the first quarter, the best performance since a 4.1 per cent gain in the first quarter of 2023. For 2024, the MPF posted a return of 8.8 per cent.
The results boosted the MPF's total assets to HK$1.338 trillion as of the end of March. The sum, which takes into account investment gains and new contributions from members, works out to HK$279,100 per person. That was 13 per cent higher than a year earlier, indicating an average portfolio increase of HK$30,000 per member.
'Notably, Hong Kong and China equities led all asset classes in the first quarter while US equities slumped,' said Francis Chung, the chairman of MPF Ratings.
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'This performance difference should serve as a harsh lesson for the record number of MPF members who switched out of Hong Kong and China equities and into US equities last year.'
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