According to the Zhitong Finance APP, the September rankings for Hong Kong's Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) have been released, with Asian funds continuing to hold the leading positions, while US equity funds also made it into the top ten. In contrast, the bottom ten funds were entirely Hong Kong or mainland China equity funds. A similar pattern was observed for the first three quarters overall, with the gap between the best and worst MPF funds year-to-date reaching as high as 88 percentage points.

The September rankings showed a clear geographic divergence. South Korean and Asian equity funds occupied most of the top positions, with US equity funds also breaking into the top ten. Conversely, the bottom ten funds were all Hong Kong or China equity funds. This result reflects a marked divergence in fund flows across different markets during the month, with market themes and geographic allocation becoming the primary sources of return disparity among funds.

South Korean stocks received a boost in late September from artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related shares, supporting the performance of South Korean and Asian funds. During the same period, the Hong Kong market was affected by rising US long-term bond yields, weakness in technology and insurance stocks, and thinner trading ahead of holidays. The MPF rankings thus displayed a polarized pattern of "Asian funds rising, Hong Kong funds falling."

The monthly top performer was the Haitong Korea Fund - T Class, up 3.37%. The second through fourth places were all Asian equity funds under different schemes managed by East Asia, with gains ranging from 2.94% to 3.15%. The fifth place was the Allianz Oriental Pacific Fund - Unit T, up 2.81%. The Fidelity Retirement Integrated Trust Hong Kong Equity Fund fell 4.46%, ranking last in September, with all ten of the biggest decliners being Hong Kong equity funds.

Over the first nine months, a similar trend emerged year-to-date. The Haitong Korea Fund - T Class accumulated a gain of 77.42%, continuing to hold the top spot. The Haitong Asia Pacific Fund - T Class rose 44.83%, ranking second. Three Asian equity funds under East Asia gained 37.14%, 37.01%, and 36.90% respectively, while the Sun Life MPF Asian Equity Fund - Class B also rose 35.27%. The weakest performer year-to-date was the BOC Prudential China Equity Fund, down 10.11% cumulatively. The East Asia China Tracker Index Fund fell 6.99%, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index Fund dropped 6.89%. The difference between the best and worst funds for the year reached 87.53 percentage points, reflecting that geographic selection and market cycles can have a far greater impact on long-term cumulative returns than monthly fluctuations.