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Is Matthews China Investor (MCHFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you have been looking for China - Equity funds, a place to start could be Matthews China Investor (MCHFX - Free Report) . MCHFX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that MCHFX is a China - Equity option, an area loaded with different options. China - Equity mutual funds and their investments revolve around stocks in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. China's middle class is booming, and its economy reflect this demographic's rise more than the vast export-focused manufacturing one we typically associate with the country. Even if this strategy sounds enticing, you may want to look past MCHFX.
History of Fund/Manager
Matthews Asia is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of MCHFX. Matthews China Investor made its debut in February of 1998, and since then, MCHFX has accumulated about $271.62 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -3.92%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -23.99%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. The standard deviation of MCHFX over the past three years is 31.6% compared to the category average of 20.55%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 28.74% compared to the category average of 20.56%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.47, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -7.88, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, MCHFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.16% compared to the category average of 1.18%. MCHFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Matthews China Investor ( MCHFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Matthews China Investor ( MCHFX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the China - Equity area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into MCHFX too for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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Is Matthews China Investor (MCHFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you have been looking for China - Equity funds, a place to start could be Matthews China Investor (MCHFX - Free Report) . MCHFX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that MCHFX is a China - Equity option, an area loaded with different options. China - Equity mutual funds and their investments revolve around stocks in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. China's middle class is booming, and its economy reflect this demographic's rise more than the vast export-focused manufacturing one we typically associate with the country. Even if this strategy sounds enticing, you may want to look past MCHFX.
History of Fund/Manager
Matthews Asia is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of MCHFX. Matthews China Investor made its debut in February of 1998, and since then, MCHFX has accumulated about $271.62 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -3.92%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -23.99%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. The standard deviation of MCHFX over the past three years is 31.6% compared to the category average of 20.55%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 28.74% compared to the category average of 20.56%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.47, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -7.88, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, MCHFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.16% compared to the category average of 1.18%. MCHFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Matthews China Investor ( MCHFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Matthews China Investor ( MCHFX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the China - Equity area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into MCHFX too for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.