Number of millionaires in Hong Kong MPF doubles
Hong Kong's pension regulator said the number of millionaires in its scheme doubled as the total assets of the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) reached an all-time high of HK$1.4 trillion (US$178 billion) as of June, an increase of 130 per cent from 10 years earlier.
In a blog post on Sunday, Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) chairwoman Ayesha Macpherson Lau said around 125,000 MPF members had assets of more than HK$1 million, double the tally from five years earlier. The MPFA attributed its increase in assets to strong investment performance and voluntary contributions to the scheme.In addition, she said there were 27,000 MPF members who had HK$2 million in assets or more.
'The MPF is a long-term investment,' she said. 'With early planning and leveraging voluntary contributions, individuals can steadily build reliable financial reserves … for their basic retirement protection.' Established in 2000, the MPF is a compulsory retirement scheme covering more than 4.75 million members. It collects monthly contributions from employers and employees – each at 5 per cent of a worker's monthly salary – or up to HK$3,000 a month.
Members can also make voluntary contributions; around 30 per cent of members were willing to do so. The MPFA's data showed that over 25 years, about 30 per cent of MPF members have made voluntary contributions of HK$520,000 each on average, on top of a HK$500,000 mandatory contribution per person.Assuming a participant who made voluntary contributions chose the default investment strategy, which has a diversified investment portfolio, they were projected to have total MPF assets of HK$3.4 million by 2040, double what was available to those who only made a mandatory contribution, Lau said.
The growth in MPF assets was also driven by a strong investment performance. The MPF achieved its third-best interim performance as a rally in Chinese stocks this year improved returns and helped lift total assets to their highest level since 2000.
The 379 MPF funds generated a combined HK$115 billion in investment income from January to June this year, according to MPF Ratings, an independent research firm.
'Earnings have driven MPF's historic run,' said Francis Chung, chairman of MPF Ratings on Friday. 'We expect the average MPF member account balance to exceed HK$300,000 for the first time by the end of July.' The growth in MPF assets was mainly aided by a rally in the Hong Kong stock market, according to Kenrick Chung, chief corporate solutions officer at Bay Insurance Brokers.
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