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Is Matthews Asia Growth Fund Investor (MPACX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You might want to begin with Matthews Asia Growth Fund Investor (MPACX - Free Report) . MPACX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Matthews Asia is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of MPACX. Since Matthews Asia Growth Fund Investor made its debut in October of 2003, MPACX has garnered more than $812.03 million in assets. Taizo Ishida is the fund's current manager and has held that role since January of 2007.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.7%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 5.22%, 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. MPACX's standard deviation over the past three years is 21.39% compared to the category average of 15.59%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 19.43% compared to the category average of 14.13%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.84, 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. MPACX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -3.74, which means 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, MPACX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.04% compared to the category average of 1.31%. MPACX 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 Asia Growth Fund Investor ( MPACX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Matthews Asia Growth Fund Investor ( MPACX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about MPACX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.


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