Women’s retirement planning: Invest in your future self

14 March 2024

Emilie Paquet, Head of Strategic Initiatives and Innovation, Multi-Asset Solutions Team

Vladyslav Kyrychenko, Senior Investment Analyst, Multi-Asset Solutions Team

Generating lifelong retirement income is a challenge—and one that’s not shared equally between men and women. With longer average life spans, women are often more at risk of not meeting their retirement income targets. We measure the extent to which a longer lifespan affects factors that are crucial to women’s retirement readiness.

Women face unique challenges compared to men when planning for income in retirement. One factor that no-one has control over is how long we will live. Women often face average life spans longer than men, which puts them at higher potential risk of not reaching their target for income in retirement. Additionally, women face the challenge of potentially taking a career break to have children and are typically more likely than men to give up full time employment to care for family members. These disruptions may often increase shortfall risk, which is exacerbated by women’s longer average life spans.

Retirement income for women: what is shortfall risk?

In the context of retirement, shortfall risk is the danger of not meeting your income replacement rate, which is the percentage of your income prior to retirement that you want as a monthly or yearly income during retirement. The industry standard for planning purposes is to use a 70% replacement rate. In other words, 70% of your monthly income prior to retirement is the amount of income you want every month during retirement. Achieving this goal is not easy. Yet by understanding the extent to which four primary factors affect shortfall risk, women may be better-informed when making long-term decisions:

How long you’re likely to live
Start date for contributions
Contribution rate
Investment choices

Establishing a base case

We used the following assumptions as a base case against which to measure the effect these various factors will have:

An accumulation period of 40 years (starting at age 25)
10% total contribution rate (5% employee contribution plus 5% employer match)—depending on the terms, a savings plan may have full or partial employer match
Retirement age of 65
An income replacement goal of 42% comprising of accumulated retirement contributions
Mortality data for women in Hong Kong (Hong Kong Assured Lives Mortality Table 2018 (Female))

1. Living longer—how may this affect your retirement income?

All other things being equal, our analysis shows that longevity risk in retirement is such that a woman in Asia retiring at age 65 will consistently have a higher shortfall risk than a man due to longer average life expectancy. In Hong Kong, a woman at retirement has 28% shortfall risk; In other words, as a woman, you will have a 28% probability of not meeting your income replacement target. This is concerning given that it’s based on 40-years of uninterrupted accumulation and a 10% total contribution rate. What if you have a career break to start a family or stop working to care for elderly parents? Any of these circumstances have the potential to increase shortfall risk.

Due to longer life expectancies, women have a greater risk of income shortfall in retirement

Source: Multi-Asset Solutions Team, Manulife Investment Management, December 2023.

2. Starting date—what effect may this have long term?

When you start accumulating investments for retirement has a significant effect on whether you reach your income replacement target and, therefore, affects your retirement savings shortfall. In aiming to quantify this risk, we analyzed varying outcomes based on different starting ages: 25, 35 and 45.

If you start retirement contributions at age 35, instead of 25, our analysis shows that your shortfall risk is 38%, which is a high number. Starting 10 years later than that—age 45—pushes your shortfall risk up to 52% if you’re living in Hong Kong, which is significant.

Effects on shortfall risk when delaying investing for retirement

Source: Multi-Asset Solutions Team, Manulife Investment Management, December 2023.

Importantly, this risk remains high even if you ultimately set aside the same total contributions. This is because the early benefits of compounding cannot be caught up later. Consider the following hypothetical scenario:

Mei and Lu both contribute the same amount to their retirement investment—HKD 720,000—and receive the same annual growth rate of 5%. However, Mei delays her start date by 10 years. Although both women’s contributions are the same, Mei’s delayed start means she doesn’t benefit from the early compounding that gives Lu over HKD 600,000 more by retirement.

Lu’s total accumulation is 36% higher than Mei’s.

Measuring the effects of early compounding

Source: Multi-Asset Solutions Team, Manulife Investment Management, 13 November, 2023. The above illustration does not depict an investment in any Manulife Investment Management portfolio and is a hypothetical example for comparison purposes only. Rates are subject to change. This illustration does not reflect the effect of asset charges and account fees. These fees would reduce the performance shown in the above illustration. The investment return and principal value of an investment may fluctuate so that distributed investments may be worth more or less than their original value. The illustration assumes: (1) no initial lump sum, HKD18,000 invested yearly for 40 years; (2) no initial lump sum, HKD24,000 invested yearly for 30 years. (3) no withdrawals. All hypothetical assumptions include a compound annual growth rate of 5%, accrued yearly. There are no guarantees that the results shown will be achieved.

3. Contribution rate—how may this affect your accumulation?

Unsurprisingly, how much you save has a significant effect on your income for retirement. However, when we measure the results of saving 5% more—or less—than the 10% base case, the positive and negative effects are unevenly distributed. For example, saving half of the 10% base rate may more than double your shortfall risk from 28% to 68%.

However, to potentially cut your risk in half doesn’t require you to double your contributions. Increasing total contributions from 10% to 15% has the potential to limit your shortfall risk significantly.

Shortfall risk based on different contribution rates

Source: Multi-Asset Solutions Team, Manulife Investment Management, 13 November, 2023.

4. Investment strategies for women—an important pillar in retirement income

We often refer to retirement savings, but a more accurate description is retirement investments. Savings generally suggests putting money aside for a future purpose, but this underemphasizes a critical choice, which is choosing how to optimally help grow your money for the future—in other words, investing.

Investing for retirement requires careful consideration of the options available to help your money grow without taking on unnecessary risk. However, in the context of a long lifespan, the inability to capture sufficient growth is an important and significant risk. In our analysis, we looked at shortfall risk in the context of investment choice. Our analysis shows that undiversified, conservative options such as cash or near-cash investments, increases shortfall risk to as high as 84%, even higher if you start accumulating your investments later than 25 years old and/or have a total contribution rate less than 10%. Choosing your retirement investments carefully is important, which is why financial advice may be helpful and where options aimed at long-term retirement investing, such as a target-date strategy that changes the asset allocation mix throughout your accumulation journey, may be beneficial. Speak to a financial professional to get long-term financial planning advice.

Diversifying your investment choices helps to lower shortfall risk

Source: Multi-Asset Solutions Team, Manulife Investment Management, 13 November, 2023. Above portfolios are based on indexes. Please see important disclosures below for a list of indexes used and the composition of the 3 hypothetical portfolios. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Tackling the gender gap in retirement savings

Women face unique challenges compared to men when planning for income in retirement, especially in relation to the one factor that no-one has control over—how long we’ll live. As such, it’s important to be informed about what affects shortfall risk. Time horizon and how much you allocate towards your total retirement contributions will have the largest affect on meeting your income target. But making prudent investment choices are just as critical to ensure your money is working as hard as you need it to be, especially in the context of a longer life. Investing for retirement is challenging, but it’s not insurmountable. Being knowledgeable about the risks you may face as a women and working with a financial professional to devise a plan based on personal goals and circumstances is the approach you should consider to help make better financial decisions for the future.

Important disclosures about portfolio compositions

Data is based on Manulife Investment Management's Multi-Asset Solutions Team (MAST) asset class forecasts, which comprise MAST's expectations of how different asset classes will perform in the future over a 20-year-plus time horizon. Refer below to the list of indexes used. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Forecasts are derived using quantitative modeling techniques, which are mathematical and statistical based methods—some of which are widely used in financial markets and some of which are developed specifically by MAST—for analyzing complex financial data. In addition, forecasts include estimates of anticipated economic conditions, including, but not limited to, inflation and interest rates, GDP and currency exchange rates, and the anticipated effects these may have on financial markets and asset prices. There is no assurance that such events will occur, and actual asset class returns may be significantly different from those shown here. This material should not be viewed as a recommendation or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any investment products or to adopt any investment strategy and are not meant as predictions for any particular index, mutual fund, or investment vehicle.

Target-date portfolio at age 25 consists of equities (95%), cash (1%), fixed income (4%); at age 65 consists of equities (50%), fixed income (45%), cash (5%). 60/40 portfolio consists of equities (60%) and fixed income (40%), cash portfolio consists of cash (100%).

Within equities, there are five single/regional market equities in both the target-date portfolio and 60/40 portfolio: Hong Kong equities, North American equities, European equities, Japan equities, Asia Pacific (ex Japan and Hong Kong) equities. They do not carry equal weights, those weights change over the course of the glidepath.

Hong Kong equities are represented by the FTSE MPF Hong Kong Index; North American equities are represented by the FTSE MPF North America Index; European equities are represented by the FTSE MPF Europe Index; Japan equities are represented by the FTSE MPF Japan Index; Asia Pacific (ex Japan and Hong Kong) equities are represented by the FTSE MPF Asia Pacific ex Japan & Hong Kong Index.

Within fixed income, there are three types of bond in both the target-date portfolio and 60/40 portfolio: Global core investment grade, Asia local bonds and Hong Kong bonds. They do not carry equal weights, those weights change over the course of the glidepath.

Global core investment grade bonds are represented by the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. Asia local bonds are represented by the Markit iBoxx Asian Local Bond Index. Hong Kong bonds are represented by the Markit iBoxx ALBI Hong Kong Index.

Cash is represented by the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) Prescribed Savings Rate, at which interest is for the time being payable in respect of a Hong Kong dollar savings account with deposit amount of HKD 120,000.

Your retirement withdrawal strategy—four tips for managing inflation

When it is time to enjoy what you’ve always dreamed of doing, the retirement planning doesn’t end there. It’s important to regularly review your withdrawal strategy and make adjustments as needed to keep changing economic conditions from throwing you off track. Consider the four tips to help keep inflation from depleting your retirement savings sooner than you expected.

Read more
Plan for retirement with inflation in mind

To live comfortably in sliver age, your goal should not be merely to accumulate assets worth a nominal value. Inflation should also be considered to ensure an investment appreciates over the years, so its real purchasing power can satisfy your retirement needs.

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A comprehensive retirement income strategy

To achieve a generous income and hassle-free post-retirement life, it is crucial to develop a comprehensive strategy that includes maintaining moderate investments and receiving a potentially regular and stable income.

Read more

See all

Your retirement withdrawal strategy—four tips for managing inflation

When it is time to enjoy what you’ve always dreamed of doing, the retirement planning doesn’t end there. It’s important to regularly review your withdrawal strategy and make adjustments as needed to keep changing economic conditions from throwing you off track. Consider the four tips to help keep inflation from depleting your retirement savings sooner than you expected.

Read more
Plan for retirement with inflation in mind

To live comfortably in sliver age, your goal should not be merely to accumulate assets worth a nominal value. Inflation should also be considered to ensure an investment appreciates over the years, so its real purchasing power can satisfy your retirement needs.

Read more
A comprehensive retirement income strategy

To achieve a generous income and hassle-free post-retirement life, it is crucial to develop a comprehensive strategy that includes maintaining moderate investments and receiving a potentially regular and stable income.

Read more

See all

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This website may contain information provided, compiled or arrived at from sources believed to be reliable but Manulife Investment Management (Hong Kong) Limited does not make any representation as to the accuracy, correctness, usefulness or completeness of the information on this website and does not accept liability for any loss arising from the use hereof or the information and/or analysis contained herein.

Please take note that information provided here is for your reference only. No information contained here should be relied upon as investment advice or regarded as a substitute for any investment advice.

Investment involves risk. Investors should not only base on this website alone to make investment decisions and should read the offering documents for details, including the risk factors, charges and features of the products and services. This website has not been reviewed by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong. Issued by Manulife Investment Management (Hong Kong) Limited.

General Risk Disclosure

Funds offered on this platform may invest in equity, fixed income securities, exchange-traded funds, collective investment schemes and/or other instruments, including derivatives, and each of which has its specific investment objective/ policy with its specific features and different risk profile.
Distribution of dividends, the frequency of distribution and the amount/rate of dividends are not guaranteed. Dividend of certain share/unit classes, at the fund or the investment manager’s discretion, may be paid out of capital or gross income while charging / paying all or part of its fees and expenses out of its capital. This amounts to a return or withdrawal of part of an investor’s original investment or from any capital gains attributable to that original investment, and may result in an immediate reduction of the net asset value per share/unit of the respective share/unit classes after the distribution date.
Some funds may invest in bonds or debt securities which may be subject to credit, liquidity, counterparty and market risks.
Some funds may invest in non-investment grade bonds and unrated securities which may be subject to greater credit and liquidity risks, and may be more volatile than higher rated securities. Some funds may invest in investment grade debt securities, which may be subject to ratings downgrades by the rating agencies that may affect the net asset value of the fund.
Some funds may invest in derivative instruments which may involve additional risks. (For example, leverage may cause greater volatility.)
Some funds may make extensive use of derivatives including more complex derivative instruments or strategies to achieve the investment objective, this may give rise to additional exposure in that performance may rise or fall more than it would have done otherwise. In adverse situations, the fund’s use of derivative instruments may become ineffective and the fund may suffer significant losses. The use of derivatives may give rise to leverage, liquidity, counterparty and valuation risks.
Some funds may invest in emerging economies or markets, where special risks, including liquidity, volatility, government policies, taxation, currency, currency repatriation, political and regulatory risks, may be substantially higher than the risks normally associated with more developed economies or markets.
Some funds may invest in securities of small and/or medium sized companies in the relevant markets. This can involve greater risk than is customarily associated with investments in larger and more established companies.
Some funds may invest in a single country/region and/or a particular industry sector which may be concentrated and subject to greater risks than diversified investments in several countries and/or regions and across sectors.
Some funds may invest directly in certain China A shares via the Stock Connect, which may involve risks related to investments via the Stock Connect and Mainland China investment.
Some funds may have significant exposure to Renminbi ("RMB") bonds/equity/assets or emerging markets, which will be subject to debt instrument, credit/counterparty, concentration, liquidity, volatility, currency, tax, economic, foreign exchange/multi-currency conversion, down-grading, regulatory and political risks and these risks could be substantially higher than the risks normally associated with more established markets.
Some funds with significant exposure to RMB bonds/equity/assets may hold a significant portion of assets in deposits if there are not sufficient RMB instruments to invest in. This may adversely affect the funds’ return and performance.
Some funds using Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (“QFII”) quota to invest directly in debt instruments/shares in Mainland China may be subject to various requirements and restrictions under the laws of Mainland China related to QFII investment and custodial risks.
Some funds are subject to the risks of investing in other funds and the risks relating to asset allocation strategy and/or downside risk management process.
As RMB is not freely convertible, currency conversion is subject to exchange controls and restrictions. There can be no assurance that RMB will not be subject to devaluation. Insufficient amount of RMB for currency conversion or devaluation of RMB could adversely affect the value of investors’ investments in the RMB denominated class(es) of certain funds. The “Dim Sum” bond market is still a relatively small market which is more susceptible to volatility and illiquidity. Due to RMB concentration risk, the value of the funds with substantial RMB exposure may be more volatile than that of a fund having a more diverse portfolio of investments.
Some funds’ performance will be closely tied to the economic, political, regulatory, geopolitical, market, currency or other conditions in the European Economic Area and may be subject to increased liquidity, price, and foreign exchange risk.
Some funds may invest in Russia and some investments in Russian securities may be unlisted securities not dealt on a regulated market. The Russian market presents specific risks in relation to the settlement and safekeeping of securities.
Investment involves risk. Investors may expose to capital loss and should not invest solely based on the information on this website alone and should read the offering documents for details including the associated risk factors, charges and features of the funds and their share/unit classes. Past performance information is not indicative of future performance.

Manulife Global Fund

Manulife Global Fund is an umbrella fund comprising a number of sub-funds investing in equity and/or fixed income securities, each of which has a different investment objective and risk profile and may involve equity market, geographical concentration, sovereign debt, liquidity, volatility, credit downgrade, interest rate, counterparty risks. Certain investors may also be subject to the risk relating to RMB hedged share class.
The relevant distributing class of the sub-funds does not guarantee distribution of dividends, the frequency of distribution and the amount/rate of dividends. Dividends may be paid out of income, realized capital gains and/or out of capital of certain sub-funds in respect of Inc share class(es). Dividends may be paid out of realized capital gains, capital and/or gross income while charging all or part of their fees and expenses to capital (i.e. payment of fees and expenses out of capital) in respect of MDIST (G) and R MDIST (G) share class(es). Dividends paid out of capital of these sub-funds amounts to a return or withdrawal of part of the amount of an investor’s original investment or from any capital gains attributable to that original investment and may result in an immediate decrease in the net asset value per share in respect of such class(es) of the sub-funds.
Certain sub-funds invest in emerging economies or markets, where special risks, including liquidity, volatility, government policies, taxation, currency, currency repatriation, political and regulatory risks, may be substantially higher than the risks normally associated with more developed economies or markets.
Certain sub-funds invest in securities of small and medium sized companies in the relevant markets. This can involve greater risk than is customarily associated with investments in larger and more established companies.
Certain sub-funds concentrate their investments in a single country and/or a particular industry sector are subject to greater risks than diversified investments in several countries and/or regions and across sectors.
Certain sub-funds may invest directly in certain China A shares via Stock Connect, which may involve in risk related to Investments via Stock Connect and Mainland China investment.
Investment involves risk. The sub-funds may expose their investors to capital loss. Investors should not invest solely based on this material and should read the offering document for details including the risk factors, charges and features of the sub-funds and their share classes.
Each sub-fund intends to use financial derivative instruments (“FDIs”) for investment, efficient portfolio management and/or hedging purposes. The use of FDIs exposes the Fund to additional risks, including counterparty/credit risk, liquidity risk, valuation risk, volatility risk and over-the-counter transaction risk.
Given RMB is currently not a freely convertible currency, payment of redemptions and/or dividend payment in RMB may be delayed due to the exchange controls and restrictions applicable to RMB. As offshore RMB (CNH) will be used for the valuation of RMB denominated Class(es), CNH rate may be at a premium or discount to the exchange rate for onshore RMB (CNY) and there may be significant bid and offer spreads and thus the value of the RMB denominated Class(es) will be subject to fluctuation. Any devaluation of RMB could adversely affect the value of investors’ investments in the RMB denominated Class(es) of certain sub-funds.

Manulife Advanced Fund SPC

Manulife Advanced Fund SPC is an umbrella fund comprising a number of sub-funds investing primarily in equity and bond securities, each of which has a different investment objective and risk level.
The sub-funds do not guarantee distribution of dividends, the frequency of distribution, and the amount/rate of dividends. A sub-fund may at its discretion pay dividend out of capital or gross income while charging / paying all or part of its fees and expenses out of its capital. This amounts to a return or withdrawal of part of an investor’s original investment or from any capital gains attributable to that original investment, and may result in an immediate reduction of the net asset value per share of the respective share classes after the distribution date.
Certain sub-funds with significant exposure to Renminbi (“RMB”) bonds/equity/assets or emerging markets, may involve debt instrument, credit/counterparty, concentration, liquidity, volatility, currency, tax, economic, foreign exchange/multi-currency conversion, down-grading, regulatory and political risks and these risks could be substantially higher than the risks normally associated with the world's more established markets.
A bond sub-fund may hold a significant portion of assets in deposits if there are not sufficient RMB instruments for it to invest in. This may adversely affect its return and performance.
Certain sub-funds using invest directly in debt instruments/shares via QFII regime, the Bond Connect and/or the Foreign Access Regime are subject to various requirements and restrictions under the laws of Mainland China related to investment in QFII and/or China Interbank Bond Market and custodial risks.
RMB is not freely convertible and is subject to exchange controls and restrictions.
Certain sub-funds may have significant concentrated exposures to particular industry sectors and geography's, which subjects investors to concentration and equity market risk.
Certain sub-funds may invest in equities of small- and mid-capitalization companies, which can expose investors to liquidity and volatility risks, and is subject to greater risk than is customarily associated with investments in larger capitalization companies.
Investment involves risk. The sub-funds may expose to a high risk of capital loss. Investors should not invest solely based on this material and should read the offering document for details including the risk factors, charges and features of the sub-funds.

Manulife Hong Kong Series

Manulife Hong Kong Series (“the Series”) is an open-ended unit trust comprising a number of funds primarily investing in equities, debt securities, exchange-traded funds and/or collective investment schemes, each of which has a different investment objective and risk level.
The funds do not guarantee distribution of dividends, the frequency of distribution, and the amount/rate of dividends. Dividends may be paid out of capital and/or out of gross income of certain funds in respect of Inc classes, while charging/paying all or part of certain funds’ fees and expenses to/out of capital of certain funds. This represents a return or a withdrawal of part of an investor's original investment amount or capital gain attributable to that amount. Distributions will result in an immediate decrease in the net asset value of the relevant units. Class AA (RMB) Inc Hedged Unit of certain funds is subject to higher distribution risks than other non-hedged unit classes.
Certain funds may involve equity market, emerging markets, Dim Sum bond market, concentration, volatility, liquidity, credit, credit ratings, below investment grade and unrated securities, credit rating downgrading, interest rates, valuation, sovereign debt, unlisted debt securities, political and regulatory, currency, foreign exchange, derivative and structured product, hedging, and distribution risks. Certain investors may also be subject to the risk relating to RMB hedged share class..
Certain funds are subject to the risks of investing in other funds and the risks relating to asset allocation strategy and/or downside risk management process.
Certain fund is subject to the risks relating to investment in exchange traded funds, Strategic and Tactical Asset Rebalancing Strategy (“STARS”), small- and mid-capped companies, convertible bonds and the risks associated with securitised debt instruments and investments in loss-absorption features. Certain fund is a feeder fund that invests all or substantially all of its assets in another collective investment scheme (the “master fund”) and is therefore subject to the risks of investing in the master fund.
Certain fund will not have direct investments other than cash, cash equivalents and financial derivative instruments (such as futures, options and forwards).
Investment involves risk. The funds may expose its investors to capital loss. Investors should not make investment decisions based on this material alone but should read the offering document for details, including the risk factors, charges and features of the Fund and its unit classes.

General Risk Disclosure

Funds offered on this platform may invest in equity, fixed income securities, exchange-traded funds, collective investment schemes and/or other instruments, including derivatives, and each of which has its specific investment objective/ policy with its specific features and different risk profile.
Distribution of dividends, the frequency of distribution and the amount/rate of dividends are not guaranteed. Dividend of certain share/unit classes, at the fund or the investment manager’s discretion, may be paid out of capital or gross income while charging / paying all or part of its fees and expenses out of its capital. This amounts to a return or withdrawal of part of an investor’s original investment or from any capital gains attributable to that original investment, and may result in an immediate reduction of the net asset value per share/unit of the respective share/unit classes after the distribution date.
Some funds may invest in bonds or debt securities which may be subject to credit, liquidity, counterparty and market risks.
Some funds may invest in non-investment grade bonds and unrated securities which may be subject to greater credit and liquidity risks, and may be more volatile than higher rated securities. Some funds may invest in investment grade debt securities, which may be subject to ratings downgrades by the rating agencies that may affect the net asset value of the fund.
Some funds may invest in derivative instruments which may involve additional risks. (For example, leverage may cause greater volatility.)
Some funds may make extensive use of derivatives including more complex derivative instruments or strategies to achieve the investment objective, this may give rise to additional exposure in that performance may rise or fall more than it would have done otherwise. In adverse situations, the fund’s use of derivative instruments may become ineffective and the fund may suffer significant losses. The use of derivatives may give rise to leverage, liquidity, counterparty and valuation risks.
Some funds may invest in emerging economies or markets, where special risks, including liquidity, volatility, government policies, taxation, currency, currency repatriation, political and regulatory risks, may be substantially higher than the risks normally associated with more developed economies or markets.
Some funds may invest in securities of small and/or medium sized companies in the relevant markets. This can involve greater risk than is customarily associated with investments in larger and more established companies.
Some funds may invest in a single country/region and/or a particular industry sector which may be concentrated and subject to greater risks than diversified investments in several countries and/or regions and across sectors.
Some funds may invest directly in certain China A shares via the Stock Connect, which may involve risks related to investments via the Stock Connect and Mainland China investment.
Some funds may have significant exposure to Renminbi ("RMB") bonds/equity/assets or emerging markets, which will be subject to debt instrument, credit/counterparty, concentration, liquidity, volatility, currency, tax, economic, foreign exchange/multi-currency conversion, down-grading, regulatory and political risks and these risks could be substantially higher than the risks normally associated with more established markets.
Some funds with significant exposure to RMB bonds/equity/assets may hold a significant portion of assets in deposits if there are not sufficient RMB instruments to invest in. This may adversely affect the funds’ return and performance.
Some funds using Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (“QFII”) quota to invest directly in debt instruments/shares in Mainland China may be subject to various requirements and restrictions under the laws of Mainland China related to QFII investment and custodial risks.
Some funds are subject to the risks of investing in other funds and the risks relating to asset allocation strategy and/or downside risk management process.
As RMB is not freely convertible, currency conversion is subject to exchange controls and restrictions. There can be no assurance that RMB will not be subject to devaluation. Insufficient amount of RMB for currency conversion or devaluation of RMB could adversely affect the value of investors’ investments in the RMB denominated class(es) of certain funds. The “Dim Sum” bond market is still a relatively small market which is more susceptible to volatility and illiquidity. Due to RMB concentration risk, the value of the funds with substantial RMB exposure may be more volatile than that of a fund having a more diverse portfolio of investments.
Some funds’ performance will be closely tied to the economic, political, regulatory, geopolitical, market, currency or other conditions in the European Economic Area and may be subject to increased liquidity, price, and foreign exchange risk.
Some funds may invest in Russia and some investments in Russian securities may be unlisted securities not dealt on a regulated market. The Russian market presents specific risks in relation to the settlement and safekeeping of securities.
Investment involves risk. Investors may expose to capital loss and should not invest solely based on the information on this website alone and should read the offering documents for details including the associated risk factors, charges and features of the funds and their share/unit classes. Past performance information is not indicative of future performance.

Manulife Global Fund

Manulife Global Fund is an umbrella fund comprising a number of sub-funds investing in equity and/or fixed income securities, each of which has a different investment objective and risk profile and may involve equity market, geographical concentration, sovereign debt, liquidity, volatility, credit downgrade, interest rate, counterparty risks. Certain investors may also be subject to the risk relating to RMB hedged share class.
The relevant distributing class of the sub-funds does not guarantee distribution of dividends, the frequency of distribution and the amount/rate of dividends. Dividends may be paid out of income, realized capital gains and/or out of capital of certain sub-funds in respect of Inc share class(es). Dividends may be paid out of realized capital gains, capital and/or gross income while charging all or part of their fees and expenses to capital (i.e. payment of fees and expenses out of capital) in respect of MDIST (G) and R MDIST (G) share class(es). Dividends paid out of capital of these sub-funds amounts to a return or withdrawal of part of the amount of an investor’s original investment or from any capital gains attributable to that original investment and may result in an immediate decrease in the net asset value per share in respect of such class(es) of the sub-funds.
Certain sub-funds invest in emerging economies or markets, where special risks, including liquidity, volatility, government policies, taxation, currency, currency repatriation, political and regulatory risks, may be substantially higher than the risks normally associated with more developed economies or markets.
Certain sub-funds invest in securities of small and medium sized companies in the relevant markets. This can involve greater risk than is customarily associated with investments in larger and more established companies.
Certain sub-funds concentrate their investments in a single country and/or a particular industry sector are subject to greater risks than diversified investments in several countries and/or regions and across sectors.
Certain sub-funds may invest directly in certain China A shares via Stock Connect, which may involve in risk related to Investments via Stock Connect and Mainland China investment.
Investment involves risk. The sub-funds may expose their investors to capital loss. Investors should not invest solely based on this material and should read the offering document for details including the risk factors, charges and features of the sub-funds and their share classes.
Each sub-fund intends to use financial derivative instruments (“FDIs”) for investment, efficient portfolio management and/or hedging purposes. The use of FDIs exposes the Fund to additional risks, including counterparty/credit risk, liquidity risk, valuation risk, volatility risk and over-the-counter transaction risk.
Given RMB is currently not a freely convertible currency, payment of redemptions and/or dividend payment in RMB may be delayed due to the exchange controls and restrictions applicable to RMB. As offshore RMB (CNH) will be used for the valuation of RMB denominated Class(es), CNH rate may be at a premium or discount to the exchange rate for onshore RMB (CNY) and there may be significant bid and offer spreads and thus the value of the RMB denominated Class(es) will be subject to fluctuation. Any devaluation of RMB could adversely affect the value of investors’ investments in the RMB denominated Class(es) of certain sub-funds.

Manulife Advanced Fund SPC

Manulife Advanced Fund SPC is an umbrella fund comprising a number of sub-funds investing primarily in equity and bond securities, each of which has a different investment objective and risk level.
The sub-funds do not guarantee distribution of dividends, the frequency of distribution, and the amount/rate of dividends. A sub-fund may at its discretion pay dividend out of capital or gross income while charging / paying all or part of its fees and expenses out of its capital. This amounts to a return or withdrawal of part of an investor’s original investment or from any capital gains attributable to that original investment, and may result in an immediate reduction of the net asset value per share of the respective share classes after the distribution date.
Certain sub-funds with significant exposure to Renminbi (“RMB”) bonds/equity/assets or emerging markets, may involve debt instrument, credit/counterparty, concentration, liquidity, volatility, currency, tax, economic, foreign exchange/multi-currency conversion, down-grading, regulatory and political risks and these risks could be substantially higher than the risks normally associated with the world's more established markets.
A bond sub-fund may hold a significant portion of assets in deposits if there are not sufficient RMB instruments for it to invest in. This may adversely affect its return and performance.
Certain sub-funds using invest directly in debt instruments/shares via QFII regime, the Bond Connect and/or the Foreign Access Regime are subject to various requirements and restrictions under the laws of Mainland China related to investment in QFII and/or China Interbank Bond Market and custodial risks.
RMB is not freely convertible and is subject to exchange controls and restrictions.
Certain sub-funds may have significant concentrated exposures to particular industry sectors and geography's, which subjects investors to concentration and equity market risk.
Certain sub-funds may invest in equities of small- and mid-capitalization companies, which can expose investors to liquidity and volatility risks, and is subject to greater risk than is customarily associated with investments in larger capitalization companies.
Investment involves risk. The sub-funds may expose to a high risk of capital loss. Investors should not invest solely based on this material and should read the offering document for details including the risk factors, charges and features of the sub-funds.

Manulife Hong Kong Series

Manulife Hong Kong Series (“the Series”) is an open-ended unit trust comprising a number of funds primarily investing in equities, debt securities, exchange-traded funds and/or collective investment schemes, each of which has a different investment objective and risk level.
The funds do not guarantee distribution of dividends, the frequency of distribution, and the amount/rate of dividends. Dividends may be paid out of capital and/or out of gross income of certain funds in respect of Inc classes, while charging/paying all or part of certain funds’ fees and expenses to/out of capital of certain funds. This represents a return or a withdrawal of part of an investor's original investment amount or capital gain attributable to that amount. Distributions will result in an immediate decrease in the net asset value of the relevant units. Class AA (RMB) Inc Hedged Unit of certain funds is subject to higher distribution risks than other non-hedged unit classes.
Certain funds may involve equity market, emerging markets, Dim Sum bond market, concentration, volatility, liquidity, credit, credit ratings, below investment grade and unrated securities, credit rating downgrading, interest rates, valuation, sovereign debt, unlisted debt securities, political and regulatory, currency, foreign exchange, derivative and structured product, hedging, and distribution risks. Certain investors may also be subject to the risk relating to RMB hedged share class..
Certain funds are subject to the risks of investing in other funds and the risks relating to asset allocation strategy and/or downside risk management process.
Certain fund is subject to the risks relating to investment in exchange traded funds, Strategic and Tactical Asset Rebalancing Strategy (“STARS”), small- and mid-capped companies, convertible bonds and the risks associated with securitised debt instruments and investments in loss-absorption features. Certain fund is a feeder fund that invests all or substantially all of its assets in another collective investment scheme (the “master fund”) and is therefore subject to the risks of investing in the master fund.
Certain fund will not have direct investments other than cash, cash equivalents and financial derivative instruments (such as futures, options and forwards).
Investment involves risk. The funds may expose its investors to capital loss. Investors should not make investment decisions based on this material alone but should read the offering document for details, including the risk factors, charges and features of the Fund and its unit classes.