15th July 2021
MPF’s half year scorecard is underpinned by record asset size
MPF Ratings’ June MPF Asset Class Fund Flows Summary has now been uploaded to MPF Ratings’ media education portal.
Key points are as follows:
- MPF net inflows in June expected to reach $4.19bn contributing to $12.91bn in net inflows for Q2 2021, and $24.18bn YTD (See Table 1).
- MPF’s asset size is at month end record high of $1.22tr, or an equivalent of $268,866 per MPF’s 4.5m members (Also see Table 1).
- Biggest asset class inflows winners: Equities across the board are attracting large share of MPF inflows. HK & China Equity Funds, Global Equity Funds, US Equities and Asian equities combined to attract approximately 100% of net inflows in the June quarter and for the first half of 2021 (Also see Table 1).
- Biggest asset class outflow losers: Defensive assets have experienced MPF’s largest outflows. MPF Conservative Funds, Guaranteed Funds and Bond Funds have seen the system’s largest monthly, quarterly and year to date outflows (Also see Table 1).
- Most popular MPF providers: Sun Life and Manulife account for 35.7% of MPF market share yet attracted 82.8% of MPF’s net inflows in June, 77.7% in Q2 2021 and 81.9% since the beginning of 2021 (See Table 2).
- Most popular funds: Sun Life Rainbow’s MPF Hong Kong Equity Fund and Greater China Equity Fund dominate inflows throughout 2021 (See Tables 3, 4 and 5) while Manulife’s strategy of offering a board range of equity fund options to its members (e.g. US, Europe, Healthcare) has been positive to their success.
MPF Ratings Ltd, Hong Kong’s independent Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) research specialist today released their June MPF Asset Class Fund Flows Summary by highlighting MPF’s biggest winners and losers during the first half of 2021.
When releasing MPF Ratings’ monthly MPF Asset Class Fund Flows Summary, Francis Chung (叢川普), Chairman of MPF Ratings highlighted the benefits and potential risks from MPF members’ ongoing confidence in equity investing as well as the ongoing success of Sun Life and Manulife versus their MPF competitors.
Confidence in equities
“Confidence in equity investing is a foundation for successful retirement investing. Long term equity returns outpace those of bonds and cash, and the power of compounding returns is crucial to maximising investment returns. A big risk to MPF member wealth however is short term trading. MPF members need to be understand equities will have periods of short term volatility, but by remaining patient and disciplined, equities will contribute to investment success.”
The dominance of insurance companies
“Since the start of 2021 Sun Life and Manulife have grown their market share by attracting approximately $82 for every $100 invested. They have done so by offering a diverse range of fund choices, capitalising on their strong distribution capabilities, and by creating better and relevant educational content and resources for their members. Educating MPF members will be critical as MPF account balances continue to grow to record levels.”
Table 1: MPF Asset Class Fund Flows as at 30 June 2021
Source: MPF Ratings
Table 2: MPF Scheme Sponsor Fund Flows as at 30 June 2021
Source: MPF Ratings
Table 3: Top 10 MPF Constituent Fund Inflow Winners for June 2021
Source: MPF Ratings
Table 4: Top 10 MPF Constituent Fund Inflow Winners for June Quarter 2021
Source: MPF Ratings
Table 5: Top 10 MPF Constituent Fund Inflow Winners for Year to Date 2021
Source: MPF Ratings