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The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) welcomes the Consumer Council's effort in the analysis of fees and charges of MPF funds and its suggestions. The authority also shares scheme members' concern about fees charged by MPF service providers.
On the Consumer Council's suggestions of introducing a comparative platform on MPF fees and charges, the authority on July 13 launched Phase I of the Fee Comparative Platform. The analysis in Choice Magazine is a useful addition to the information already available to members about MPF fees and charges and it provides an interim step to fill in the gap between Phase I and Phase II of the Fee Comparative Platform. Phase II is to be launched by the end of the year.
Phase II of the platform will provide interactive and live information with searchable functions on the fees and charges of each MPF fund. Members can use the platform to understand and compare the fees and charges of their MPF funds.
Phase I of the Comparative Platform was launched on July 13. It provides the average/highest/lowest expenses of six main MPF funds including Capital Preservation Fund, Guaranteed Fund, Bond Fund, Mixed Assets Fund, Equity Fund and others.
As amendments to the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (MPFSO) are required to empower the authority to release the fees and charges of individual MPF funds provided by trustees publicly, Phase II of the platform, which contains names and more information about individual MPF funds, will be launched after the passage of the amendment bill by the Legislative Council. The bill was introduced into the Legislative Council on June 27.
The MPFA has implemented a number of measures to keep fees and charges of MPF funds as low as reasonable. They include:
1. Improving disclosure of information about fees and charges such as the release of the Code on Disclosure for MPF Investment Funds in 2004;
2. Reducing the costs of the MPF System by streamlining administration to make room for fees reduction; and
3. Enhancing competition among trustees by allowing employees to choose their own service providers in order to drive down fees. The authority has begun discussion with the industry on the proposal.
In response to the Consumer Council's suggestion of strengthening MPF investment education, the MPFA will continue to roll out more MPF investment education activities with the aim of enhancing scheme members' knowledge of MPF investments when choosing their own investment choices. Employers are also encouraged to consider employees' views when choosing trustees.
Ends/Monday, July 16, 2007
Issued at HKT 18:49
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