Earnings from Hong Kong’s Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) in the first half of 2024 approached HK$13,364 ($1,711) per member, with all equity funds recording positive returns, according to a GUM (Give U More) report on Friday.

As of June 24, the GUM MPF Composite Index had risen by 5.5 percent and the GUM MPF Equity Fund Index had increased 8.4 percent. GUM, a local MPF advisory firm, said the overall performance of the MPF has been strong, mainly benefitting from US- and Hong Kong-related funds.

The strong performance of US funds has attracted investors. As of June 24, around HK$10.3 billion in funds had switched out of Chinese mainland- and Hong Kong-related categories

The Heng Seng Index rebounded from 14,500 points to the 18,000-point level this year, which contributed to the overall positive returns of the MPF.

READ MORE: All 24 MPF schemes to migrate to eMPF within 18 months

Hong Kong’s stock market gained considerable support from the central government’s policies, including policies to support the real estate market and the relaxation of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect restrictions.

“But the effect of the policies’ support is limited,” Michael Chan, managing director at GUM, said. The Chinese artificial intelligence and robotics industries have undergone rapid development in recent years, yet these two industries still cannot drive the stock market growth at this moment, he added.

Driven by the US’ artificial intelligence sector, US stocks have been performing strongly. US equity currently accounts for 8.5 percent of all MPF assets, making it the largest equity fund category.

The strong performance of US funds has attracted investors. As of June 24, around HK$10.3 billion in funds had switched out of Chinese mainland- and Hong Kong-related categories. Meanwhile, HK$11.2 billion had switched into the better-performing United States Equity and Japan Equity funds.

READ MORE: HK govt gazettes legal notices for launching eMPF platform

“As of May, the net switching amount of funds had reached HK$21.8 billion, which is the highest year-on-year comparison in three years, representing an increase of 125 percent compared to the previous year, reflecting that members are more actively adjusting their MPF assets,” said Martin Wan, senior manager at GUM.

Chan said he is optimistic about the outlook for MPF performance over the rest of the year.

He also advised members to watch out for any Black Swan events, which could be caused by economic or geopolitical shifts, such as the upcoming US presidential election, the US-China dispute over electric vehicle tariffs and the July parliamentary elections in the UK and France.

Contact the writer at thor_wu@chinadailyhk.com