Under normal circumstances, the Matthews Asia ESG Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets, which include borrowings for investment purposes, in the common and preferred stocks of companies of any market capitalization located in Asia that Matthews believes satisfy one or more of its environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) standards. The Fund seeks to invest in companies across the market capitalization spectrum that Matthews believes to be undervalued but of high quality and run by management teams with good operating and governance track records. In addition, the Fund seeks to invest in those Asian companies that have the potential to profit from the long-term opportunities presented by global environmental and social challenges as well as those Asian companies that proactively manage long-term risks presented by these challenges.
Risks
Investments in Asian securities may involve risks such as social and political instability, market illiquidity, exchange-rate fluctuations, a high level of volatility and limited regulation. Investing in emerging and frontier markets involves different and greater risks, as these countries are substantially smaller, less liquid and more volatile than securities markets in more developed markets. Matthews Asia ESG Fund’s consideration of ESG factors in making its investment decisions may impact the Fund’s relative investment performance positively or negatively.
These and other risks associated with investing in the Fund can be found in the
prospectus.
Asia - Consists of all countries and markets in Asia, including developed, emerging, and frontier countries and markets in the Asian region
Fees & Expenses
Gross Expense Ratio
1.20%
Net Expense Ratio
1.40%
Objective
Long-term capital appreciation
Strategy
Under normal circumstances, the Matthews Asia ESG Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets, which include borrowings for investment purposes, in the common and preferred stocks of companies of any market capitalization located in Asia that Matthews believes satisfy one or more of its environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) standards. The Fund seeks to invest in companies across the market capitalization spectrum that Matthews believes to be undervalued but of high quality and run by management teams with good operating and governance track records. In addition, the Fund seeks to invest in those Asian companies that have the potential to profit from the long-term opportunities presented by global environmental and social challenges as well as those Asian companies that proactively manage long-term risks presented by these challenges.
Risks
Investments in Asian securities may involve risks such as social and political instability, market illiquidity, exchange-rate fluctuations, a high level of volatility and limited regulation. Investing in emerging and frontier markets involves different and greater risks, as these countries are substantially smaller, less liquid and more volatile than securities markets in more developed markets. Matthews Asia ESG Fund’s consideration of ESG factors in making its investment decisions may impact the Fund’s relative investment performance positively or negatively.
The risks associated with investing in the Fund can be found in the prospectus
Performance
Monthly
Quarterly
Calendar Year
As of 04/30/2022
Average Annual Total Returns
Name
1MO
3MO
YTD
1YR
3YR
5YR
10YR
Since Inception
Inception Date
Matthews Asia ESG Fund
MASGX
-3.79%
-11.38%
-15.88%
-12.59%
10.61%
10.26%
n.a.
7.59%
04/30/2015
MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index
-5.16%
-9.91%
-12.70%
-20.80%
2.95%
5.47%
n.a.
3.76%
As of 03/31/2022
Average Annual Total Returns
Name
1MO
3MO
YTD
1YR
3YR
5YR
10YR
Since Inception
Inception Date
Matthews Asia ESG Fund
MASGX
-3.66%
-12.56%
-12.56%
-6.94%
11.94%
11.07%
n.a.
8.28%
04/30/2015
MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index
-2.74%
-7.95%
-7.95%
-14.42%
5.44%
7.05%
n.a.
4.60%
For the years ended December 31st
Name
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
Matthews Asia ESG Fund
MASGX
11.76%
42.87%
12.55%
-9.73%
33.79%
-1.40%
MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index
-4.46%
25.36%
18.52%
-14.12%
42.08%
5.76%
Source: BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. All performance is in US$.
Assumes reinvestment of all dividends and/or distributions before taxes. All performance quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results.Investment return and principal value will fluctuate with market conditions so that when redeemed, shares may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the return figures quoted. Returns would have been lower if certain of the Fund’s fees and expenses had not been waived. Performance differences between the Institutional class and the Investor class may arise due to differences in fees charged to each class.
Additional performance, attribution, liquidity, value at risk (VaR), security classification and holdings information is available on request for certain time periods.
Growth of a Hypothetical $10,000 Investment Since Inception
(as of 03/31/2022)
Source: BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. All performance is in US$.
The performance data and graph do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on dividends, capital gain distributions or redemption of fund shares.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. High ratings and rankings does not assure favorable performance.
The Overall Morningstar® Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted-average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five- and (if applicable) ten-year ratings.
Morningstar RatingTM for funds, or "star rating", is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product's monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The Morningstar Rating does not include any adjustment for sales loads. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% three-year rating for 36-59 months of total returns, 60% five-year rating/40% three-year rating for 60-119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% five-year rating/20% three-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent three-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods.
Lipper Analytical Services, Inc., rankings are based on total return, including reinvestment of dividends and capital gains for the stated periods. Funds are assigned a rank within a universe of funds similar in investment objective as determined by Lipper. For the absolute rankings shown the lower the number rank, the better the Fund performed compared to other funds in the classification group. Lipper also calculates a quartile ranking which divides the peer group into quartiles to identify funds of similar quality. Funds in the 1st or 2nd quartile had outperformed the average fund in the peer group while funds in the 3rd or 4th quartile had underperformed.
Vivek Tanneeru is a Portfolio Manager at Matthews Asia and manages the firm’s Asia ESG, Emerging Markets Small Companies and Asia Small Companies Strategies. Prior to joining Matthews Asia in 2011, Vivek was an Investment Manager on the Global Emerging Markets team of Pictet Asset Management in London. While at Pictet, he also worked on the firm’s Global Equities team, managing Japan and Asia ex-Japan markets. Before earning his MBA from the London Business School in 2006, Vivek was a Business Systems Officer at The World Bank and served as a Consultant at Arthur Andersen Business Consulting and Citicorp Infotech Industries. He interned at Generation Investment Management while studying for his MBA Vivek received his Master’s in Finance from the Birla Institute of Technology & Science in India. He is fluent in Hindi and Telugu.
Portfolio Characteristics
(as of 03/31/2022)
Fund
Benchmark
Number of Positions
52
1,220
Weighted Average Market Cap
$28.5 billion
$130.7 billion
Active Share
93.9
n.a.
P/E using FY1 estimates
17.6x
12.4x
P/E using FY2 estimates
13.5x
11.1x
Price/Cash Flow
14.3
7.9
Price/Book
2.4
1.7
Return On Equity
7.7
15.0
EPS Growth (3 Yr)
8.1%
13.4%
Sources: Factset Research Systems, Inc.
Risk Metrics (3 Yr Return)
(as of 03/31/2022)
Category
3YR Return Metric
Alpha
6.73%
Beta
1.05
Upside Capture
104.09%
Downside Capture
80.51%
Sharpe Ratio
0.52
Information Ratio
0.57
Tracking Error
11.42%
R²
72.04
6.73%
Alpha
1.05
Beta
104.09%
Upside Capture
80.51%
Downside Capture
0.52
Sharpe Ratio
0.57
Information Ratio
11.42%
Tracking Error
72.04
R²
Fund Risk Metrics are reflective of Investor share class.
Top 10 holdings may combine more than one security from the same issuer and related depositary receipts. Source: BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
Portfolio Breakdown (%)
(as of 03/31/2022)
Sector Allocation
Country Allocation
Market Cap Exposure
Sector data based on MSCI’s revised Global Industry Classification Standards. For more details, visit www.msci.com.
Not all countries are included in the benchmark index(es).
Source: FactSet Research Systems.
Percentage values in data are rounded to the nearest tenth of one percent, so the values may not sum to 100% due to rounding. Percentage values may be derived from different data sources and may not be consistent with other Fund literature.
There is no guarantee that the Fund will pay or continue to pay distributions.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate with changing market conditions so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.
For the first quarter of the year, the Fund returned -12.56% (Investor Class) and -12.55% (Institutional Class), while its benchmark, the MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index, returned -7.95% over the same period.
Market Environment:
The first quarter brought into stark relief the U.S. Federal Reserve’s struggle to gain control of both inflation and to a lesser extent inflation expectations. The threat of rising prices was elevated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as energy and commodity prices surged over concerns about supply disruptions in the oil, gas, fertilizers, wheat and corn markets. Russia’s invasion has led to a rapid reassessment of geopolitical, energy security and defense priorities broadly all over the world but more specifically in Europe and did not help the market sentiment.
Prospects of China’s potential collaboration with Russia during Ukraine invasion, in light of its “No limits” friendship announcement in early February, led to market worries about China and Chinese companies potentially coming under the threat of Western sanctions like Russia. Lingering issues such as threat of delisting of Chinese ADRs and seeming ineffectiveness and economic cost of continued Zero-COVID and its variant policies also led to further weakness in Chinese equities.
Given these developments, energy was the best performing sector in Asia during the quarter. The financials sector also had positive returns, while health care and consumer discretionary were the worst performers. As a large energy importer, many of the markets of Asia, including South Korea and Taiwan, were negatively impacted by rising oil and gas prices. The best performers were in Southeast Asia, led by Indonesia and Thailand.
Asian currencies mostly held their own against the U.S. dollar. The Thai baht and the Chinese renminbi were the best performers, while the worst performers were from energy importers and included the Japanese yen, the Taiwanese dollar, the Indian rupee and the Korean won.
Performance Contributors and Detractors:
On a country basis, our overweight allocation and stock selection within India contributed the most to the Fund’s relative performance during the quarter. Our stock selection within Singapore also aided performance. On the other hand, stock selection within China, Taiwan and South Korea detracted from performance.
At the sector level, the Fund’s underweight and stock selection within communication services and consumer discretionary, and our overweight and stock selection in real estate added to the Fund’s relative performance. On the other hand, stock selection within information technology, health care and financials detracted most from relative performance. In light of the market’s fast-evolving rate expectations and the energy and commodity price spikes during the quarter, the rotation away from expensive growth stocks continued apace, impacting high-growth sectors such as technology and biotech, which had done well last year.
In terms of individual holdings, Indian stocks contributed most to the Fund’s absolute and relative performance during the quarter, led by Bandhan Bank Ltd., India’s largest microfinance lender. After several quarters of turbulence on the back of COVID lockdowns, general weakness in India’s rural economy, and political risks emanating from state elections, the operations have seemingly stabilized and problem assets mostly provided for, giving a positive background for Bandhan’s stock price. On the other hand, our health care holdings were among the biggest detractors to performance. Health care holdings in China, including Wuxi Biologics and Innovent Biologics, were further impacted by worries about the effect of the U.S. Unverified List (UVL) on names such as Wuxi and the potential change in clinical trial design requirements by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), requiring multi-regional trials for U.S. drug approval instead of single country trials, in the case of Innovent.
Notable Portfolio Changes:
Given the fast-evolving expectations of a global rate upcycle (except for in China where expectations are for looser monetary conditions) and potential for surprises on the upside over the coming quarters, we increased the Fund’s exposure to South Korean financial services during the quarter. We initiated positions in two regional banks in South Korea: DBG Financial Group Inc. and BNK Financial Group Inc. Both have a strong franchise in their respective regions and support small and medium enterprises. We exited small stub holdings in names like Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Company, from which we took profits.
Outlook:
Looking ahead, the Fed’s pace and scope of interest rate hikes and quantitative tightening and the market’s expectation of its evolution remain the most important variables to watch and will have near-term implications for regional, sector and style performance. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the attendant impact on inflation also needs careful watching.
We expect corporate earnings to moderate in 2022 as the global recovery continues to expand. We remain watchful about the impact of inflation on corporate earnings. Across the region we see sufficient liquidity, and while we have not seen as much uptake in credit, any meaningful pick up in credit issuance should further support economic growth. In many parts of Asia COVID-19 vaccination is progressing well and provides hope for economic activity normalization in the coming quarters but China’s zero-COVID policy and its variants need watching.
Over the mid-long term we continue to believe that companies that address critical challenges such as climate change and inclusive development will continue to thrive. And for investors interested in sustainability themes, including reducing carbon emissions, alleviating poverty and creating greater financial inclusion in the developing world, Asia remains a key investment destination, in our view. To tackle sustainable themes globally, we believe we need to include the world’s most populous economies, many of which lie in Asia.
As the global economy embarks on a post-pandemic recovery path and markets contend with macro headwinds and volatility, we believe there are attractive opportunities for alpha generation throughout our large, diverse, sustainable investment universe.
View the Fund’s Top 10 holdings as of March 31, 2022. Current and future holdings are subject to change and risk.
Average Annual Total Returns - MASGX as of 03/31/2022
1YR
3YR
5YR
10YR
Since Inception
Inception Date
-6.94%
11.94%
11.07%
N.A.
8.28%
04/30/2015
All performance quoted is past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate with changing market conditions so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the return figures quoted. Returns would have been lower if certain of the Fund's fees and expenses had not been waived. Please see the Fund's most recent month-end performance.
Fees & Expenses
Gross Expense Ratio
1.20%
Net Expense Ratio
1.40%
Matthews has contractually agreed to waive fees and reimburse expenses to limit the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses until April 30, 2023. Please see the Fund’s prospectus for additional details.
Investments in Asian securities may involve risks such as social and political instability, market illiquidity, exchange-rate fluctuations, a high level of volatility and limited regulation. Investing in emerging and frontier markets involves different and greater risks, as these countries are substantially smaller, less liquid and more volatile than securities markets in more developed markets. Matthews Asia ESG Fund’s consideration of ESG factors in making its investment decisions may impact the Fund’s relative investment performance positively or negatively.
The Markit iBoxx Asian Local Bond Index tracks the total return performance of a bond portfolio consisting of local-currency denominated, high quality and liquid bonds in Asia ex-Japan. The Markit iBoxx Asian Local Bond Index includes bonds from the following countries: China (on- and offshore markets), Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
The J.P. Morgan Asia Credit Index (JACI) tracks the total return performance of the Asia fixed-rate dollar bond market. JACI is a market cap-weighted index comprising sovereign, quasi-sovereign and corporate bonds and is partitioned by country, sector and credit rating. JACI includes bonds from the following countries: China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.
The MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index is a free float–adjusted market capitalization–weighted index of the stock markets of China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index is a free float–adjusted market capitalization–weighted index of the stock markets of Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
The MSCI China Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index of Chinese equities that includes H shares listed on the Hong Kong exchange, B shares listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges, Hong Kong-listed securities known as Red chips (issued by entities owned by national or local governments in China) and P Chips (issued by companies controlled by individuals in China and deriving substantial revenues in China) and foreign listings (e.g. ADRs).
The MSCI China All Shares Index captures large and mid-cap representation across China A shares, B shares, H shares, Red chips (issued by entities owned by national or local governments in China), P chips (issued by companies controlled by individuals in China and deriving substantial revenues in China), and foreign listings (e.g. ADRs). The index aims to reflect the opportunity set of China share classes listed in Hong Kong,Shanghai, Shenzhen and outside of China.
The MSCI Emerging Markets (EM) Asia Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index of the stock markets of China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index of the stock markets of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and United Arab Emirates.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index of the stock markets of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and United Arab Emirates.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Small Cap Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted small cap index of the stock markets of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungry, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan Thailand, Turkey and United Arab Emirates.
The S&P Bombay Stock Exchange 100 (S&P BSE 100) Index is a free float–adjusted market capitalization–weighted index of 100 stocks listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
The MSCI Japan Index is a free float–adjusted market capitalization–weighted index of Japanese equities listed in Japan.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) is a market capitalization–weighted index of all common stocks listed on the Korea Stock Exchange.
The MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Small Cap Index is a free float–adjusted market capitalization–weighted small cap index of the stock markets of China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
The MSCI China Small Cap Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted small cap index of the Chinese equity securities markets, including H shares listed on the Hong Kong exchange, B shares listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges,Hong Kong-listed securities known as Red Chips (issued by entities owned by national or local governments in China) and P Chips (issued by companies controlled by individuals in China and deriving substantial revenues in China), and foreign listings (e.g., ADRs).
The information contained herein has been derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate at the time of compilation, but no representation or warranty (express or implied) is made as to the accuracy or completeness of any of this information. Neither the funds nor the Investment Advisor accept any liability for losses either direct or consequential caused by the use of this information.
The views and opinions in the commentary were as of the report date, subject to change and may not reflect current views. They are not guarantees of performance or investment results and should not be taken as investment advice. Investment decisions reflect a variety of factors, and the managers reserve the right to change their views about individual stocks, sectors, and the markets at any time. As a result, the views expressed should not be relied upon as a forecast of the Fund's future investment intent. It should not be assumed that any investment will be profitable or will equal the performance of any securities or any sectors mentioned herein. The information does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any securities mentioned.
Commentary
Period ended March 31, 2022
For the first quarter of the year, the Fund returned -12.56% (Investor Class) and -12.55% (Institutional Class), while its benchmark, the MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index, returned -7.95% over the same period.
Market Environment:
The first quarter brought into stark relief the U.S. Federal Reserve’s struggle to gain control of both inflation and to a lesser extent inflation expectations. The threat of rising prices was elevated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as energy and commodity prices surged over concerns about supply disruptions in the oil, gas, fertilizers, wheat and corn markets. Russia’s invasion has led to a rapid reassessment of geopolitical, energy security and defense priorities broadly all over the world but more specifically in Europe and did not help the market sentiment.
Prospects of China’s potential collaboration with Russia during Ukraine invasion, in light of its “No limits” friendship announcement in early February, led to market worries about China and Chinese companies potentially coming under the threat of Western sanctions like Russia. Lingering issues such as threat of delisting of Chinese ADRs and seeming ineffectiveness and economic cost of continued Zero-COVID and its variant policies also led to further weakness in Chinese equities.
Given these developments, energy was the best performing sector in Asia during the quarter. The financials sector also had positive returns, while health care and consumer discretionary were the worst performers. As a large energy importer, many of the markets of Asia, including South Korea and Taiwan, were negatively impacted by rising oil and gas prices. The best performers were in Southeast Asia, led by Indonesia and Thailand.
Asian currencies mostly held their own against the U.S. dollar. The Thai baht and the Chinese renminbi were the best performers, while the worst performers were from energy importers and included the Japanese yen, the Taiwanese dollar, the Indian rupee and the Korean won.
Performance Contributors and Detractors:
On a country basis, our overweight allocation and stock selection within India contributed the most to the Fund’s relative performance during the quarter. Our stock selection within Singapore also aided performance. On the other hand, stock selection within China, Taiwan and South Korea detracted from performance.
At the sector level, the Fund’s underweight and stock selection within communication services and consumer discretionary, and our overweight and stock selection in real estate added to the Fund’s relative performance. On the other hand, stock selection within information technology, health care and financials detracted most from relative performance. In light of the market’s fast-evolving rate expectations and the energy and commodity price spikes during the quarter, the rotation away from expensive growth stocks continued apace, impacting high-growth sectors such as technology and biotech, which had done well last year.
In terms of individual holdings, Indian stocks contributed most to the Fund’s absolute and relative performance during the quarter, led by Bandhan Bank Ltd., India’s largest microfinance lender. After several quarters of turbulence on the back of COVID lockdowns, general weakness in India’s rural economy, and political risks emanating from state elections, the operations have seemingly stabilized and problem assets mostly provided for, giving a positive background for Bandhan’s stock price. On the other hand, our health care holdings were among the biggest detractors to performance. Health care holdings in China, including Wuxi Biologics and Innovent Biologics, were further impacted by worries about the effect of the U.S. Unverified List (UVL) on names such as Wuxi and the potential change in clinical trial design requirements by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), requiring multi-regional trials for U.S. drug approval instead of single country trials, in the case of Innovent.
Notable Portfolio Changes:
Given the fast-evolving expectations of a global rate upcycle (except for in China where expectations are for looser monetary conditions) and potential for surprises on the upside over the coming quarters, we increased the Fund’s exposure to South Korean financial services during the quarter. We initiated positions in two regional banks in South Korea: DBG Financial Group Inc. and BNK Financial Group Inc. Both have a strong franchise in their respective regions and support small and medium enterprises. We exited small stub holdings in names like Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Company, from which we took profits.
Outlook:
Looking ahead, the Fed’s pace and scope of interest rate hikes and quantitative tightening and the market’s expectation of its evolution remain the most important variables to watch and will have near-term implications for regional, sector and style performance. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the attendant impact on inflation also needs careful watching.
We expect corporate earnings to moderate in 2022 as the global recovery continues to expand. We remain watchful about the impact of inflation on corporate earnings. Across the region we see sufficient liquidity, and while we have not seen as much uptake in credit, any meaningful pick up in credit issuance should further support economic growth. In many parts of Asia COVID-19 vaccination is progressing well and provides hope for economic activity normalization in the coming quarters but China’s zero-COVID policy and its variants need watching.
Over the mid-long term we continue to believe that companies that address critical challenges such as climate change and inclusive development will continue to thrive. And for investors interested in sustainability themes, including reducing carbon emissions, alleviating poverty and creating greater financial inclusion in the developing world, Asia remains a key investment destination, in our view. To tackle sustainable themes globally, we believe we need to include the world’s most populous economies, many of which lie in Asia.
As the global economy embarks on a post-pandemic recovery path and markets contend with macro headwinds and volatility, we believe there are attractive opportunities for alpha generation throughout our large, diverse, sustainable investment universe.
View the Fund’s Top 10 holdings as of March 31, 2022. Current and future holdings are subject to change and risk.
Average Annual Total Returns - MASGX as of 03/31/2022
All performance quoted is past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate with changing market conditions so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the return figures quoted. Returns would have been lower if certain of the Fund's fees and expenses had not been waived. Please see the Fund's most recent month-end performance.
Fees & Expenses
Matthews has contractually agreed to waive fees and reimburse expenses to limit the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses until April 30, 2023. Please see the Fund’s prospectus for additional details.
Investments in Asian securities may involve risks such as social and political instability, market illiquidity, exchange-rate fluctuations, a high level of volatility and limited regulation. Investing in emerging and frontier markets involves different and greater risks, as these countries are substantially smaller, less liquid and more volatile than securities markets in more developed markets. Matthews Asia ESG Fund’s consideration of ESG factors in making its investment decisions may impact the Fund’s relative investment performance positively or negatively.