MPF average per-person earnings in H1 hit $18,500; gap between best and worst fund returns is 126%

Although it recorded a loss of 1.45% in June, the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) returned 7.81% in the second quarter of 2026, driving a first-half return of 5.67%. Based on MPF Ratings estimates, this corresponds to an average profit of HK$18,500 per member.

At the same time, according to MPFGo’s latest statistics, among 397 comparable MPF constituent funds across Hong Kong (excluding money market funds and guaranteed funds), the best-performing fund in the first half recorded a return of 111.41%, while the worst-performing fund fell 14.65%. The gap between the top and bottom was as high as 126.06 percentage points, setting a rare record of divergence in the MPF market in recent years.

This shows that under the same MPF system, different markets, different industries, and different asset allocations can produce dramatically different investment results in just half a year.

Table: MPF fund category returns

Hong Kong and China stocks are the only equity fund in the red

According to MPF Ratings’ figures, the “Hong Kong and China Equity Fund” category plunged 5.73% in June and declined 0.98% in the first half. It was not only the worst-performing category in June, but also the only equity fund category that was in the red during the first half.

The “Asia Equity Fund” category led the way. Although it fell 1.17% in June, it rose by nearly 28% in the first half. “Japan Equity Fund” and “Global Equity Fund” also posted double-digit gains in the first half.

Francis Chung, Chairman of MPF Ratings, noted that “U.S. Equity Funds” and “Hong Kong and China Equity Funds” have historically been the most popular and largest equity asset classes under the MPF, yet they were among the worst-performing categories in June, affecting their overall contribution to the MPF’s total investment returns year to date. He believes this highlights the importance of long-term investing and diversification, further confirming that the low-fee default investment strategy fund set by the MPF Authority remains a quality option worth considering for MPF members.

The top-to-bottom gap in MPF first-half returns is 126%

According to MPFGo’s data, the top 10 best-performing funds in the first half of this year are almost entirely from the Asian equity and Asia-Pacific equity categories. The top-ranked “Haitong Korea Fund – T Class” recorded a half-year return of 111.41%; the second-place “Haitong Asia Pacific Fund – T Class” also returned 85.43%; and the third-place “Bank of East Asia (MPF) Asia Equity Fund” delivered a half-year return of 53.74%.

A difference of HK$1.26 million per HK$1 million in assets

As shown in the chart above, the best fund recorded a return of 111.41%, while the worst fund fell 14.65%, for a top-to-bottom gap of 126.06 percentage points. In other words, if two MPF members both held HK$1 million in retirement assets at the start of the year—one holding the best-performing fund and the other holding the worst-performing fund—after six months the difference in their book assets could theoretically exceed HK$1.26 million.

MPFGo noted that the performance of funds under the same trustee can also differ significantly. For example, some trustees’ Asian equity funds recorded half-year gains of more than 50%, but funds under the same trustee that track the Hong Kong or China market recorded double-digit declines. This again reflects that what truly affects retirement investment outcomes is often not the trustee’s brand, but rather the asset allocation, investment markets, and industry distribution behind the fund.

Fund names may not reflect investment risk

The first half of this year also serves as another reminder to investors that fund names may not be sufficient to reflect a fund’s actual investment risk. Taking “Asia Equity Fund” as an example, although many funds have similar names, their portfolio weights, country allocations, and industry distributions differ. Likewise, while index-tracking funds tend to have lower costs, their returns are highly dependent on the performance of the underlying market itself.

Therefore, in addition to paying attention to fund rankings, investors should also understand which markets, which companies, and which industries the fund actually invests in.