Q2 2024 Newsletter

Sun Life launched three MPF funds in June last year, covering Global Low Carbon Index, US, and European stocks, providing diversified investment options for MPF members. To celebrate the first anniversary of these funds, Sun Life is launching a “Less is More" management fee offer on selected funds.

By holding any of the above three selected funds during the Promotion Period, members can enjoy a special offer - a preferential management fee1 rate of up to 0.88% (per annum). The Promotion Period is from 2 July 2024 to 30 September 2024 (both dates inclusive).

For more information on Sun Life's “Less is More” offer, please visit the promotion flyer.

¹ “Management fees” include fees paid to the trustee, custodian, administrator, investment manager (including trustee and administration fee as well as investment management fee of the relevant APIF/ITCIS) and sponsor of a scheme for providing their services to the relevant fund. They are usually charged as a percentage of the net asset value of a fund. The investment management fee of the relevant APIF/ITCIS is borne by the Investment Manager, the Sponsor or their affiliates, in which case, the Scheme needs not bear the investment management fee paid by the Investment Manager.

The eMPF Platform officially launched on June 26, 2024. All existing MPF schemes will be gradually onboarded to the eMPF Platform by the end of 2025.  The Sun Life Rainbow MPF Scheme is tentatively scheduled to go live on the new platform in the second to third quarter of 2025.  By that time, all Sun Life MPF clients will be able to handle their MPF-related administrative tasks on the new platform, members can also manage all their MPF accounts through this one-stop platform

For the latest onboarding schedule, please visit eMPF website.

Sun Life has been committed to providing customers with a diverse range of MPF products and quality services. Our leading position in the market is well recognized, having received numerous prestigious awards, including:

• Excellence Performance, Investment Sector - MPF Provider of the year by Bloomberg Businessweek - Financial Institutions 2024
• Outstanding MPF Products / Services Award at the GBA Insurance Award 2024 - HK & Macau Region by Metro Finance Radio
•  Hong Kong's Most Valuable Companies 2024 Awards by Mediazone Group, including Best MPF Administration Company of the Year and Best MPF Management App
• Best MPF Member Communications Award at the Best of the Best Awards (Hong Kong) 2024 by Asia Asset Management

Please visit our Award webpage to find out more details about the MPF awards received by Sun Life.

2024 is regarded as the year for elections, with voters in as many as 77 countries head to the polls. Some election results were quite unexpected. For example, although Indian Prime Minister Modi was able to return for a third term, he did not win outright as expected; opposition parties won in Europe. In November 2024, all eyes would be on the US presidential election. With a lot of uncertainties ahead, markets might be more volatile in the coming months. In the short term, investors could consider diversifying across different asset classes and regions. But in the long run, investment megatrends remain to be the focus. Carbon reduction is regarded as one of the major megatrends, and researchers have found that if companies pay attention to factors such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) and carbon emissions, their financial resilience may be better. According to Bloomberg data, not only are low-carbon investment strategies more defensive, they also outperform parent indices when markets rebound. Global low-carbon investment strategy is considered as a defensive play in down markets while as an aggressive play for up markets.

To learn the market outlook for the third quarter of 2024 provided by Sun Life Asset Management (HK) Limited, you can access the full version of the Market Navigator – Q3 2024 for more details.

*Source: Bloomberg

Looking forward to the second half of the year, the investment market is focused on the U.S. election at the end of the year, coupled with the rise of populism in Europe, which will increase uncertainty on the economic outlook. On the other hand, mature markets such as Europe have begun interest rates cut, and the market continues to wait and see when the U.S. Federal Reserve will follow. We still expect there will be one interest rate cut this year. With the rising political risks and uncertainty on the time of interest rate cut, how may investors plan on assets allocation? We've compiled some of the more frequently asked questions by investors and share our views here.

For details, please access the full version of Market Insights – Q2 2024 at https://sunlife.co/1274a8.