Scope
Five ways of putting money into funds are compared: A, a regular-premium 101 plan (Pure 105); B, buying funds through a brokerage or bank fund account; C, term life insurance plus funds bought directly; D, a single-premium ILAS; E, a Protection Linked Plan (PLP). Figures come from the published key facts statements and IFEC pages listed in the sources and are as at their document dates. No illustrated returns are compared and no product is recommended.
The table
| Dimension | A. 101 plan (regular) | B. DIY funds | C. Term life + funds | D. Single-premium ILAS | E. PLP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your status | Policy owner | Unitholder | Both | Policy owner | Policy owner |
| Asset ownership | Insurer | Fund, held by independent trustee/custodian | Fund | Insurer | Insurer |
| Commitment | 5 to 25-year payment term | None | Annual term premium; funds none | None after the lump sum | Payment term per product |
| Lock-in | Period with surrender charge, 5 to 10 years or whole term | None | None | First 5 years | Per product, usually long |
| Exit cost | Surrender charge up to 16.5% to 49% plus bonus clawback | Redemption fee if any | Term policy has no cash value; funds as B | Early encashment charge up to 5% | Surrender/withdrawal charges plus sunk cost of insurance |
| Policy-level fees | Platform fee 1.5% to 4.5% a year plus COI and policy fee | Platform or dealing fees by channel | Term premium | Platform fee plus COI | Platform fee plus higher COI |
| Fund-level fees | Yes, partly rebated to insurer | Yes | Yes | Yes, rebate cap 60% to 82% | Yes |
| Bonuses | Welcome, special, loyalty; clawback applies | None | None | Loyalty bonus on some plans | Per product |
| Death benefit | 105% of account value | Units pass to estate | Term sum assured plus units to estate | 105% of account value | At least 150% of total premiums payable before 65 |
| Fund range | Insurer's investment-choice list | Everything the channel sells, including ETFs | As B | Insurer's list | Insurer's list |
| Switching | Within the list, often free | Redeem and subscribe at fund terms | As B | As A | As A |
| Cooling-off | 21 calendar days, subject to MVA | None | Life policy yes, funds no | 21 days | 21 days |
| Regulation | SFC-authorised documents plus IA GL15/GL26 sale process | SFC-authorised funds, licensed intermediary | Both | As A | As A |
Reading the rows
Ownership comes first because everything else follows from it: a 101 plan gives you a claim on the insurer and nothing on the funds; a brokerage account gives you units in assets segregated from the fund manager. Commitment and lock-in are the price of the "discipline" a 101 plan offers; stopping premiums triggers a premium holiday, lower bonuses and possibly a lapse. On fees, the cleanest comparison is annualised: published KFS put policy-level fees net of bonuses at roughly 1.1% to 1.45% of account value a year, with fund-level fees on top, while the same retail fund in a brokerage account carries only its own fees plus any channel charge. On exit, the gap is largest: a few basis points of redemption fee against a loss of 20% to 50% of premiums paid if a 101 plan is surrendered in its early years. The 105% death benefit adds only 5% to account value; its real feature is payment to a nominated beneficiary outside probate, which any life policy provides. The investment-choice list is narrower than a brokerage platform and rarely includes low-cost index funds; what it buys is free switching inside the list.
When the extra fees have a counterpart
A 101 plan equals DIY funds plus platform fees and a lock-in, minus asset ownership, plus forced regular contributions and beneficiary nomination. The extra cost has a counterpart only when all three hold: you can complete the whole period with surrender charge, you genuinely need a forced contribution mechanism, and you have calculated and accepted the annualised fee net of bonuses. Otherwise the SFC's mandatory KFS sentence applies: if you are not prepared to hold for at least N years, the policy is not suitable and buying life insurance and funds separately may be cheaper.
Sources and dates
- Compare ILAS and funds — Investor and Financial Education Council (IFEC) · 2023-02-20
- Enhanced ILAS KFS template — Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) · 2022-05-23
- Product Key Facts: Treasure Advantage 2 — AIA International Limited · 2020-09
- SunFortune Product Key Facts (single premium) — Sun Life Hong Kong Limited · 2025-10
- What is Protection Linked Plan (PLP)? Compared with traditional ILAS and funds — Zurich Insurance (Hong Kong) · 2024-04-05
- Guideline on Cooling-off Period (GL29) — Insurance Authority (IA) · 2019-09-23
Cite this page
You may quote this page freely; please keep the source and date. Suggested format:
Baiyi Plan Editorial (2026). “101 Plan vs Buying Funds Directly vs Term Life Plus Funds: Twelve-Dimension Comparison.” 101plan.hk. https://101plan.hk/en/compare/ (accessed YYYY-MM-DD).