MPF performance ranking: a HK$270,000 gap between best and worst Hong Kong equity funds

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

Picking the right or wrong fund can mean a HK$270,000 difference over ten years. Drawing on Morningstar data covering more than 500 MPF funds and dollar-cost-averaging calculations, the best and worst Hong Kong equity funds since the millennium differ by 4.55 times in cumulative return — on HK$2,000 a month, the ten-year pot differs by more than HK$268,000.

Which Hong Kong equity fund leads the MPF performance ranking?

Long-term track records matter when choosing an MPF fund. Over the ten years to May 2012, the best Hong Kong equity fund averaged 16.02 per cent a year, far above the 8.53 per cent average and streets ahead of the laggard — a Manulife peer fund at just 3.8 per cent. A gap of a dozen percentage points, compounded over a decade, becomes a 4.55-fold difference.

Best vs worst: ten-year scorecard

Data as of May 2012. Morningstar’s figures put a Haitong flagship as the ten-year champion, but long-run data was missing, so the ranking uses funds with complete records. Among balanced funds, the strongest Fidelity lifestyle equity fund earned nearly double the weakest AXA peer.

Don’t wait for semi-portability

Experts stress choosing proven long-term winners. Even members who did not get a head start should act decisively: consolidate preserved accounts — the old accounts left behind after job changes, numbering 3.95 million across Hong Kong in 2012 — into one. With the MPF “semi-portability” scheme (employee choice) expected in November 2012, there is no need to wait to tidy up.