We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Is Matthews China Fund (MCHFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Read MoreHide Full Article
China - Equity fund seekers should consider taking a look at Matthews China Fund (MCHFX - Free Report) . MCHFX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
MCHFX is one of many China - Equity mutual funds to choose from. These funds focus their investments almost exclusively on stocks in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. We tend to associate the Chinese economy with vast export-focused manufacturing, and although this is still important, China is increasingly catering to its booming middle class. If this approach sounds appealing to you, MCHFX could be the way to go.
History of Fund/Manager
MCHFX finds itself in the Matthews Asia family, based out of San Francisco, CA. Matthews China Fund debuted in February of 1998. Since then, MCHFX has accumulated assets of about $1.07 billion, according to the most recently available information. Winnie Chwang is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2014.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 22.72%, and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 17.45%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
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 21.88% compared to the category average of 17.78%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 20.03% compared to the category average of 15.19%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.73, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. With a positive alpha of 9.92, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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 1.09% compared to the category average of 1.57%. 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.
Bottom Line
Overall, Matthews China Fund ( MCHFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Matthews China Fund ( MCHFX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on China - Equity funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare MCHFX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Is Matthews China Fund (MCHFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
China - Equity fund seekers should consider taking a look at Matthews China Fund (MCHFX - Free Report) . MCHFX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
MCHFX is one of many China - Equity mutual funds to choose from. These funds focus their investments almost exclusively on stocks in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. We tend to associate the Chinese economy with vast export-focused manufacturing, and although this is still important, China is increasingly catering to its booming middle class. If this approach sounds appealing to you, MCHFX could be the way to go.
History of Fund/Manager
MCHFX finds itself in the Matthews Asia family, based out of San Francisco, CA. Matthews China Fund debuted in February of 1998. Since then, MCHFX has accumulated assets of about $1.07 billion, according to the most recently available information. Winnie Chwang is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2014.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 22.72%, and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 17.45%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
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 21.88% compared to the category average of 17.78%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 20.03% compared to the category average of 15.19%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.73, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. With a positive alpha of 9.92, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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 1.09% compared to the category average of 1.57%. 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.
Bottom Line
Overall, Matthews China Fund ( MCHFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Matthews China Fund ( MCHFX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on China - Equity funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare MCHFX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.