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Is Matthews Asia Growth Fund Investor (MPACX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Pacific Rim - Equity fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Matthews Asia Growth Fund Investor (MPACX - Free Report) . MPACX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Pacific Rim - Equity funds is an area filled with options, such as MPACX. Pacific Rim - Equity mutual funds usually invest in companies with a big presence in the export-focused markets of Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and Korea. These funds also invest less than 10% of their assets in Japanese companies since Japan mutual funds are incredibly popular.
History of Fund/Manager
MPACX is a part of the Matthews Asia family of funds, a company based out of San Francisco, CA. Matthews Asia Growth Fund Investor made its debut in October of 2003, and since then, MPACX has accumulated about $889.21 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Taizo Ishida who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2007.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. MPACX has a 5-year annualized total return of 14.37% and is in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 13.05%, 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 MPACX over the past three years is 21.69% compared to the category average of 16.67%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 18.09% compared to the category average of 13.92%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.83, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. MPACX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 0.51, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, MPACX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.08% compared to the category average of 1.40%. From a cost perspective, MPACX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $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, average 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is Matthews Asia Growth Fund Investor (MPACX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Pacific Rim - Equity fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Matthews Asia Growth Fund Investor (MPACX - Free Report) . MPACX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Pacific Rim - Equity funds is an area filled with options, such as MPACX. Pacific Rim - Equity mutual funds usually invest in companies with a big presence in the export-focused markets of Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and Korea. These funds also invest less than 10% of their assets in Japanese companies since Japan mutual funds are incredibly popular.
History of Fund/Manager
MPACX is a part of the Matthews Asia family of funds, a company based out of San Francisco, CA. Matthews Asia Growth Fund Investor made its debut in October of 2003, and since then, MPACX has accumulated about $889.21 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Taizo Ishida who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2007.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. MPACX has a 5-year annualized total return of 14.37% and is in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 13.05%, 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 MPACX over the past three years is 21.69% compared to the category average of 16.67%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 18.09% compared to the category average of 13.92%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.83, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. MPACX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 0.51, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, MPACX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.08% compared to the category average of 1.40%. From a cost perspective, MPACX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $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, average 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.