02/19/1998
Inception Date
-8.89%
YTD Return
(as of 11/30/2021)
$24.60
Price
(as of 11/30/2021)
$1.55 billion
Fund Assets
(as of 10/31/2021)
Long-term capital appreciation
Under normal circumstances, the Matthews China 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 located in China. The Fund seeks to invest in companies capable of sustainable growth based on the fundamental characteristics of those companies, including balance sheet information; number of employees; size and stability of cash flow; management’s depth, adaptability and integrity; product lines; marketing strategies; corporate governance; and financial health.
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 markets involves different and greater risks, as these countries are substantially smaller, less liquid and more volatile than securities markets in more developed markets. In addition, investments in a single-country fund, which is considered a non-diversified fund, may be subject to a higher degree of market risk than diversified funds because of concentration in a specific country.
The risks associated with investing in the Fund can be found in the prospectus.
| Inception Date | 02/19/1998 | |
| Fund Assets | $1.55 billion (10/31/2021) | |
| Currency | USD | |
| Ticker | MCHFX | |
| Cusip | 577-130-701 | |
| Portfolio Turnover | 52.6% | |
| Benchmark | MSCI China Index MSCI China All Shares Index | |
| Geographic Focus | China - China includes its administrative and other districts, such as Hong Kong | |
| Gross Expense Ratio | 1.09% | |
MSCI China Index since inception value calculated from 2/28/98.
Source: BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. All performance is in US$.
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.
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.
(as of 09/30/2021)
CATEGORY: China Region
(as of 09/30/2021)
CATEGORY: China Region Funds
Ratings agency calculation methodology
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.
Lead Manager
Portfolio Manager
Andrew Mattock is a Portfolio Manager at Matthews Asia and manages the firm's China and China Small Companies Strategies. Prior to joining the firm in 2015, he was a Fund Manager at Henderson Global Investors for 15 years, first in London and then in Singapore, managing Asia Pacific equities. Andrew holds a Bachelor of Business majoring in Accounting from ACU. He began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers and qualified as a Chartered Accountant.
Co-Manager
Portfolio Manager
Winnie Chwang is a Portfolio Manager at Matthews Asia and manages the firm’s China Small Strategy and co-manages the China and Pacific Tiger Strategies. She joined the firm in 2004 and has built her investment career at the firm. Winnie earned an MBA from the Haas School of Business and received her B.A. in Economics with a minor in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley. She is fluent in Mandarin and conversational in Cantonese.
Sources: Factset Research Systems, Inc.
Fund Risk Metrics are reflective of Investor share class.
Sources: Zephyr StyleADVISOR
Top 10 holdings may combine more than one security from the same issuer and related depositary receipts.
Source: BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
Sector data based on MSCI’s revised Global Industry Classification Standards. For more details, visit www.msci.com.
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.
Visit our Glossary of Terms page for definitions and additional information.
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 September 30, 2021
For the quarter ending September 30, 2021, the Matthews China Fund returned -13.08% (Investor Class) and -13.03% (Institutional Class), while its primary benchmark, the MSCI China Index, returned -18.13% over the same period.
Market Environment:
Chinese equities experienced a large sell-off following recent regulatory announcements created on technology and for-profit education and were the weakest performing in the region in the third quarter. In addition, recent economic data has pointed to a slowdown of economic growth which has been compounded by worries of a weaker real estate sector, as China Evergrande Group, one of the country’s largest real estate developers, has run into financial stress. Fears of systemic financial market contagion and the publicized electricity shortages after the government pressed for restrictions of energy production to reduce carbon output contributed to ongoing headwinds. Real estate, consumer discretionary and communication services sectors were weak during the quarter, while cyclical sectors like energy and materials were among the best performers. Mega caps underperformed while mid- and small-cap equities were the most insulated from downside pressure.
Performance Contributors and Detractors:
The Fund’s outperformance during the third quarter was driven by both strong stock selection and sector allocation effects. From a sector perspective, stock selection in financials, consumer discretionary and information technology contributed to relative performance. Among the Fund’s consumer discretionary holdings, Zhongsheng Group Holdings, a luxury auto dealership, contributed to relative performance, given attractive valuations and the continued growth experienced in China’s luxury auto market. In the financials sector, our holdings in brokerages, including CITIC Securities Co. and China Merchants Securities Co., did well. The Fund’s significant allocation to brokerages stems from cheap valuations and still strong fundamentals and earnings growth given their ability to expand service offerings as China’s capital markets deepen. The information technology sector continued to contribute positively to performance year to date, buoyed by Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment Co. and Naura Technology Group Co.—electronic equipment companies in the semiconductor and electric vehicle space which continued to benefit from ongoing capital expenditures within these industries as they execute their capacity expansion plans.
On the other hand, the real estate, energy and utilities sectors detracted from relative performance. The portfolio’s real estate holdings KWG Living Group Holdings, a property management services provider, and KE Holdings, a housing transactions platform provider, continued to experience weakness on an ever tightening policy environment—deepening market concerns about the outlook of the overall property market in China in the third quarter. However, given the sharp pull back in valuations, we continue to believe real estate opportunities in China are attractively valued and may offer high dividend yields, making the risk/reward prospects even more favorable. In both the energy and utility sectors, the Fund underperformed given a lack of sector exposure in these areas of the market which have rallied on the back of higher energy prices and efforts to grow renewable energy contributions within the earnings mix of traditional utility companies. We are still assessing the opportunities, but believe that direct opportunities in renewable energy growth can be captured elsewhere in the portfolio, e.g., in industrials and materials.
Notable Portfolio Changes:
During the third quarter, China equities continued to be volatile as real estate concerns weighed on an already fragile market sentiment. We continued to take the opportunity to reallocate capital into growth areas that have experienced a considerable pull back in valuations. We have reduced the Fund’s financials exposure slightly and added positions to sectors such as information technology, materials and consumer discretionary, given still strong secular growth opportunities. One addition during the third quarter was Shanghai Baosight, an IT solutions provider that caters mostly to the IT needs of the steel industry. Its parent and largest customer is China’s leading steel company, Baoshan Iron and Steel, which has been leading the industry in digitizing its operations. We see an attractive growth potential for the company, as the steel industry continues to digitize manufacturing processes in its effort to maximize efficiency and optimize operations to facilitate growth within a more emissions-controlled world. We closed out our small position in Luxshare Precision Industry, an electronics manufacturing services (“EMS”) vendor that supplies leading smartphone companies around the world. We exited Luxshare due to our more cautious view of a moderate outlook on smartphone growth. Taking an all-shares approach to investing in Chinese equities, we have continued to add to the overall A-share exposure of the portfolio, with the overall A-share exposure increasing from around 30% to 39% over the past six months.
Outlook:
First half earnings results announced in the third quarter in China showed continued COVID recovery and were generally encouraging across the board, except for a weaker recovery in some parts of consumption, e.g., consumer staples, which we continue to monitor closely. The first half results also shed some light on potential government directives over the next year, which we believe will be positively directed toward China’s efforts at increased domestic self-sufficiency across a myriad of supply chains (e.g., technology and health care) and environmental efforts to further promote green energy developments in China. We believe there are many opportunities in China that stand to benefit positively from these developments and expect to see meaningful volume expansions, which should help drive positive earnings growth across these supported industries.
As of September 30, 2021, the securities mentioned comprised the Matthews China Fund in the following percentages: Zhongsheng Group Holdings, Ltd., 1.7%; CITIC Securities Co., 3.2%; China Merchants Securities Co., 2.2%; Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., 1.8%; Naura Technology Group Co., 0.6%; KWG Living Group Holdings Ltd., 0.4%; KE Holdings, Inc., 0.9%; Shanghai Baosight Software Co., 1.5%. The Fund held no positions in China Evergrande Group, Baoshan Iron and Steel and Luxshare Precision Industry.
Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to change and risk.
Earnings growth is not representative of the Fund’s future performance.
Average Annual Total Returns - MCHFX as of 09/30/2021
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
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 markets involves different and greater risks, as these countries are substantially smaller, less liquid and more volatile than securities markets in more developed markets. In addition, investments in a single-country fund, which is considered a non-diversified fund, may be subject to a higher degree of market risk than diversified funds because of concentration in a specific country.