Checking your MPF balance: why the figure is never today’s price

This article is a rewrite of a report from June 2012.

Most employers chose MPF schemes on fund performance and fees, rarely weighing service quality. But MPF service differed more than people assumed — this instalment covered the member side. (A few garbled characters in the original have been reconstructed from context.)

How can members check MPF balances?

Beyond the annual benefit statement, members could check balances by phone or online — but the figure was never the day’s price, because constituent fund prices typically took two working days to compute; equity fund investors could see daily balances swing widely in volatile markets.

Two more caveats: not every constituent fund was priced on every stock market trading day — some were priced weekly. And some providers went beyond basic balances, showing historical actual contributions and actual investment returns.

Beyond balance checks: what’s the smartest way to switch funds?

Online or phone switching beat mailing forms. Although every provider supplied fund-switching forms for post or in-person submission, mail gave no control over dealing timing and could easily backfire. For online or phone switches, members needed to watch daily cut-off times and the fund prices applied.

Where could fund performance reports be found?

Apart from consultancy reports, some providers updated fund prices weekly for easy reference. When choosing a scheme, service deserved a seat at the table alongside fees and performance.