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Matthews China Small Companies Fund
MCSMX

Snapshot
  • Seeks alpha in China’s lesser known small entrepreneurial companies
  • Invests in industries that are leveraged to China’s increasingly innovative and dynamic economy driven by fast growing domestic consumer demand
  • Tilt towards higher value-added growth sectors benefiting from innovation and capital efficiency

05/31/2011

Inception Date

4.47%

YTD Return

(as of 12/11/2024)

$9.35

NAV

(as of 12/11/2024)

+0.02

1 Day NAV Change

(as of 12/11/2024)

Objective

Long-term capital appreciation.

Strategy

Under normal circumstances, the 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 Small Companies located in China. China includes its administrative and other districts, such as Hong Kong. The Fund seeks to invest in smaller 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. The Fund defines Small Companies as companies with market capitalization no higher than the greater of US $5 billion or the market capitalization of the largest company included in the Fund's primary benchmark, the MSCI China Small Cap Index.

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 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 Fund is non-diversified as it concentrates its investments in small sized companies. Investing in small- and mid-size companies is more risky and volatile than investing in large companies as they may be more volatile and less liquid than larger companies.

These and other risks associated with investing in the Fund can be found in the prospectus.

Fund Facts
Inception Date 05/31/2011
Fund Assets $67.42 million (11/30/2024)
Currency USD
Ticker MCSMX
Cusip 577-125-404
Portfolio Turnover 59.1%
Benchmark MSCI China Small Cap Index
Geographic Focus China - China includes its administrative and other districts, such as Hong Kong
Fees & Expenses
Gross Expense Ratio 1.40%
Net Expense Ratio 1.40%

Performance

  • Monthly
  • Quarterly
  • Calendar Year
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As of 11/30/2024
Average Annual Total Returns
Name 1MO 3MO YTD 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR Since Inception Inception Date
Matthews China Small Companies Fund - MCSMX
05/31/2011
MCSMX
-2.48% 12.72% 1.01% 0.40% -18.54% 0.98% 5.37% 4.03%
MSCI China Small Cap Index
-1.35% 14.87% 2.81% 1.47% -17.50% -5.92% -3.71% -2.79%
As of 09/30/2024
Average Annual Total Returns
Name 1MO 3MO YTD 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR Since Inception Inception Date
Matthews China Small Companies Fund - MCSMX
05/31/2011
MCSMX
20.70% 12.69% 8.16% 0.63% -16.14% 3.71% 6.35% 4.62%
MSCI China Small Cap Index
25.02% 18.73% 11.90% 8.62% -16.64% -4.15% -2.82% -2.21%
For the years ended December 31st
Name 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
Matthews China Small Companies Fund - MCSMX
MCSMX
-17.51% -31.26% -3.59% 82.52% 35.41% -17.68% 53.88% -2.35% 4.07% -3.33%
MSCI China Small Cap Index (USD)
-24.82% -24.77% -6.26% 27.21% 6.63% -19.53% 24.62% -5.95% 3.48% -0.34%
 

Unusually high returns may not be sustainable. 

The Fund's primary benchmark index is the MSCI China Index.

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 06/30/2024)

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.

Ratings

  • OVERALL
  • out of 96 funds
  • 3 YEAR
  • out of 96 funds
  • 5 YEAR
  • out of 71 funds
  • 10 YEAR
  • out of 52 funds
  • 1 YEAR
  • 4th
  • 93 out of 98 funds
  • 3 YEAR
  • 4th
  • 80 out of 92 funds
  • 5 YEAR
  • 1st
  • 17 out of 71 funds
  • 10 YEAR
  • 1st
  • 6 out of 51 funds
  • SINCE INCEPTION
  • 1st
  • 10 out of 41 funds

Ratings agency calculation methodology

Portfolio Managers

Andrew  Mattock, CFA photo
Andrew Mattock, CFA

Lead Manager

Winnie  Chwang photo
Winnie Chwang

Lead Manager

Sherwood  Zhang, CFA photo
Sherwood Zhang, CFA

Co-Manager

Hardy  Zhu photo
Hardy Zhu

Co-Manager

Portfolio Characteristics

(as of 09/30/2024)
Fund Benchmark
Number of Positions 58 228
Weighted Average Market Cap $5.4 billion $1.9 billion
Active Share 87.4 n.a.
P/E using FY1 estimates 13.9x 9.0x
P/E using FY2 estimates 12.0x 8.0x
Price/Cash Flow 10.8 5.1
Price/Book 2.2 0.7
Return On Equity 16.1 5.4
EPS Growth (3 Yr) 23.8% 14.7%

Sources: Factset Research Systems, Inc.

Risk Metrics (3 Yr Return)

(as of 09/30/2024)
-1.70%
Alpha
0.88
Beta
85.80%
Upside Capture
94.97%
Downside Capture
-0.65
Sharpe Ratio
0.04
Information Ratio
12.50%
Tracking Error
84.71

Fund Risk Metrics are reflective of Investor share class.

Sources: Zephyr StyleADVISOR

Top 10 Holdings

(as of 11/30/2024)
Name Sector % Net Assets
China Overseas Property Holdings, Ltd. Real Estate 5.1
Giant Biogene Holding Co., Ltd. Consumer Staples 4.3
Hongfa Technology Co Ltd. Industrials 3.9
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings, Ltd. Industrials 3.2
ENN Natural Gas Co., Ltd. Utilities 3.1
Yantai Jereh Oilfield Services Group Co., Ltd. Energy 2.9
Tongcheng Travel Holdings, Ltd. Consumer Discretionary 2.8
Atour Lifestyle Holdings, Ltd. Consumer Discretionary 2.7
KE Holdings, Inc. Real Estate 2.7
NetEase Cloud Music, Inc. Communication Services 2.7
TOTAL 33.4

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 09/30/2024)
  • Sector Allocation
  • Market Cap Exposure
  • China Exposure
Sector Fund Benchmark Difference
Industrials 21.1 12.5 8.6
Consumer Discretionary 17.5 11.8 5.7
Consumer Staples 10.9 5.9 5.0
Real Estate 10.7 12.9 -2.2
Information Technology 9.0 10.8 -1.8
Health Care 8.2 21.5 -13.3
Communication Services 6.9 7.1 -0.2
Materials 4.5 8.2 -3.7
Energy 3.5 1.4 2.1
Utilities 3.1 3.0 0.1
Financials 0.0 5.0 -5.0
Cash and Other Assets, Less Liabilities 4.7 0.0 4.7

Sector data based on MSCI’s revised Global Industry Classification Standards. For more details, visit www.msci.com.

Equity market cap of issuer Fund Benchmark Difference
Large Cap ($10B-$25B) 0.0 0.0 0.0
Mega Cap (over $25B) 3.8 0.0 3.8
Mid Cap ($3B-$10B) 64.6 10.9 53.7
Small Cap (under $3B) 27.0 89.1 -62.1
Cash and Other Assets, Less Liabilities 4.7 0.0 4.7

The Portfolio’s market cap exposure breakdown presented is used for comparison purposes and the definition of the capitalization breakdown is from MSCI.

The Fund defines Small Companies as companies with market capitalization no higher than the greater of US$5 billion or the market capitalization of the largest company included in the Fund's primary benchmark, the MSCI China Small Cap Index.

China Exposure Portfolio Weight
Hong Kong Listed Companies 46.5
Mainland China Listed Companies 30.4
Other 10.4
ADR/GDR 8.1
Cash and Other Assets, Less Liabilities 4.7

Mainland China listed companies includes A Share and B Shares. A Shares are Mainland Chinese companies incorporated in China and listed on the Shanghai or Shenzhen exchanges, available mostly to local Chinese investors and qualified institutional investors. B Shares are mainland Chinese companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, available to both Chinese and non-Chinese investors. ADRs are American Depositary Receipts and GDRs are Global Depositary Receipts. Hong Kong Listed Companies include SAR (Hong Kong) companies, China-affiliated corporations, and H Shares. SAR companies are companies that conduct business in Hong Kong and/or mainland China. China-affiliated corporations [CAC], also known as "Red Chips," are mainland China companies with partial state ownership listed in Hong Kong, and incorporated in Hong Kong. H Shares are mainland Chinese companies listed on the Hong Kong exchange but incorporated in mainland China. Other represents Chinese companies listed in other countries or non-China companies with a majority of revenue coming from China such as Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and the United States or other non-China companies.

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.

Distributions

Record Date Ex, Pay and
Reinvest Date
Ordinary
Income
Short Term
Capital Gains
Long Term
Capital Gains
Total Distributions
Per Share
% of NAV Nondividend Distribution (Return of Capital)
12/13/2023 12/14/2023 $0.21127 $0.00000 $0.00000 $0.21127 2.4% N.A.
12/13/2022 12/14/2022 $0.19767 $0.00000 $0.00000 $0.19767 1.7% N.A.
12/14/2021 12/15/2021 $0.11673 $1.77913 $0.81209 $2.70795 14.0% N.A.
12/15/2020 12/16/2020 $0.13338 $1.96280 $1.27532 $3.37150 18.0% N.A.
12/16/2019 12/17/2019 $0.13223 $0.00000 $0.00000 $0.13223 1.0% N.A.

 

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.

Commentary

Period ended September 30, 2024

Market Environment

  • China's difficulties are well documented. Since the second quarter, consumer sentiment continued to deteriorate and month-on-month property prices continued to decline. There is de-premiumization occurring as consumers are spending but they're much more selective in what they are spending on.
  • Despite this, many Chinese companies showed resilience. While earnings have disappointed in many areas, there were notable exceptions, particularly in e-commerce, where there has been a focus on the bottom line and improvements in profitability, rather than purely on sales growth. Companies more directly tied to China’s domestic economy faced greater challenges. Among retailers, we are seeing margins coming down as companies try to maintain volumes.
  • While we believe valuations are generally compelling, earnings projections are changeable and some stocks can remain attractive while others can become expensive. Toward the end of the quarter the markets rallied after the central bank launched a broad and significant stimulus package.

Contributors and Detractors

  • For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, the Matthews China Small Companies Fund returned 12.69%, (Investor Class) and 12.69% (Institutional Class) while its benchmark, the MSCI China Small Cap Index, returned 18.73% over the same period.
  • On a sector basis, the top three contributors to relative performance were materials due to an underweight allocation, consumer discretionary and consumer staples due to stock selection. The top three detractors were information technology (IT), health care and communication services due to stock selection.
  • The largest contributors to absolute performance included KE Holdings, a real estate digital platform provider that offers listing information as well as a suite of realty services, China Overseas Property Holdings, a property management firm, and Midea Real Estate Holding Limited, a property developer. The top three detractors included Greentown Management Holding, a construction company, Kanzhun, an online recruiter, and ACM Research, a semiconductor equipment company which provides a variety of equipment used in China’s foundries.

Outlook

  • The stimulus moves announced by China’s central bank included measures to boost the stock market, support the real estate sector and add liquidity in the economy. We view them as the broadest and most aggressive set of proposals since China’s economy started to face challenges more than three years ago. However, it will take time to see if the measures provide a sustainable catalyst for economic recovery or whether further stimulus is warranted.
  • We believe that Chinese equities have been priced too cheaply amid all the macro negativities. We have seen earnings growth this year but it has not been fully reflected in stock market pricing. As such, while improvements in the economy are anticipated, we believe the markets are attractively valued and could do well based on multiple re-rating.
  • Meanwhile, we expect volatility to remain in China’s markets, particularly as we approach and pass through the U.S. election.

 

View the Fund’s Top 10 holdings as of September 30, 2024. Current and future holdings are subject to change and risk.

Average Annual Total Returns - MCSMX as of 09/30/2024
1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR Since Inception Inception Date
0.63% -16.14% 3.71% 6.35% 4.62% 05/31/2011

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. For the Fund's most recent month-end performance visit matthewsasia.com

Fees & Expenses
Gross Expense Ratio 1.40%
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, 2025. 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 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 Fund is non-diversified as it concentrates its investments in small sized companies. Investing in small- and mid-size companies is more risky and volatile than investing in large companies as they may be more volatile and less liquid than larger companies.

 

Visit our Glossary of Terms page for definitions and additional information.

Index Definitions

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.