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Is Matthews Asian Growth & Income Fund (MACSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, you might want to consider passing on by Matthews Asian Growth & Income Fund (MACSX - Free Report) as a possibility. MACSX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

MACSX is a part of the Matthews Asia family of funds, a company based out of San Francisco, CA. The Matthews Asian Growth & Income Fund made its debut in September of 1994 and MACSX has managed to accumulate roughly $415.21 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -0.24%, and it sits in the bottom 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 -1.83%, which places it in the bottom 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. Over the past three years, MACSX's standard deviation comes in at 19.33%, compared to the category average of 20.48%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 16.57% compared to the category average of 17.94%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.58, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. MACSX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -5.56, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, MACSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.14% compared to the category average of 1.29%. From a cost perspective, MACSX 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 Asian Growth & Income Fund ( MACSX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Matthews Asian Growth & Income Fund ( MACSX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about MACSX? 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.


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