Manulife MPF fee cuts to save its pension scheme members US$14m in next year
Fees on 23 of its 29 MPF funds on offer will be cut between 2.6pc and 47.9pc
Manulife is planning to slash the management fees on its Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) investment funds starting August 1, it said on Friday, by enough to save pension holders HK$110 million (US$14 million) in the next year.
The management fees on 23 of Manulife’s 29 MPF funds on offer – which range from international equity funds to regional bond funds, to money market funds – will be cut between 2.6 per cent and a whopping 47.9 per cent, said Raymond Ng Ching-fat, soon-to-be head of employee benefits and vice-president at Manulife (International).
He added the aim is to “boost return performance and cost effectiveness for our members”.
Manulife’s fee reductions come after the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, which regulates the city’s compulsory pension scheme, last month said 14 pension providers had signed up to a charter under which they had agreed to voluntarily cut fees. This is expected to help 2.8 million MPF holders in the city save around HK$200 million in fees over the next year.
Just over half of those savings will come from the fee cuts by the Canadian Manulife, which the biggest MPF sponsor in Hong Kong, with a 22.5 pent cent market share, Ng said.