Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Frederick Ma says Mandatory Provident Fund investment education is important, and people should set specific objectives and make a proper risk assessment  before making an MPF investment.

In his latest FSTB & You column, posted on the Financial Services & the Treasury website, Mr Ma said more than two million people have participated in MPF schemes and the accumulated current net asset value has reached over $140 billion.

As with other kinds of investment, one needs not only to give much care and attention to choosing the MPF investment, but also to optimise the investment effect, he said.

Investment tips

"Generally speaking, for young scheme members, whose retirement is still a long way off and thus have a long-term investment horizon, they can afford to take higher risks. However, as one advances in age, the risk-bearing ability decreases and one tends to adopt a more balanced or conservative investment strategy."

Apart from encouraging scheme members to look after their investments, the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority and the Government has also enhanced the disclosure of information on MPF and supervision of MPF trustees.

The Code on Disclosure for MPF Investment Funds aims to enhance the transparency of information about MPF funds and sets out all the fees and charges to enable scheme members to make informed investment decisions.

Transparency enhanced

The measures introduced include requiring the trustees to compile standardised fee tables for MPF schemes and standardising in the Fund Fact Sheets the basic information to be provided by the funds on a continuous basis.