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Is Matthews China Investor (MCHFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Any investors hoping to find a China - Equity fund could think about starting with Matthews China Investor (MCHFX - Free Report) . MCHFX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify MCHFX in the China - Equity category, an area that is rife with potential choices. China - Equity mutual funds almost exclusively target stocks throughout China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. China has changed drastically over the years, and even though we still associate the country's economy with export-focused manufacturing, it now focuses more than ever on its middle class. If you like the sounds of this investment method, then MCHFX could worth a closer look for your portfolio.
History of Fund/Manager
Matthews Asia is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of MCHFX. Matthews China Investor debuted in February of 1998. Since then, MCHFX has accumulated assets of about $284.09 million, according to the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. MCHFX has a 5-year annualized total return of -0.36% and is in the middle 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 -8.68%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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. Compared to the category average of 21.93%, the standard deviation of MCHFX over the past three years is 36.38%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 30.64% compared to the category average of 20.89%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.35, so it is likely going to be less volatile than the market at large. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -3.11, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, MCHFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.26% compared to the category average of 1.15%. MCHFX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
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
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Matthews China Investor ( MCHFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the China - Equity segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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 China Investor (MCHFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a China - Equity fund could think about starting with Matthews China Investor (MCHFX - Free Report) . MCHFX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify MCHFX in the China - Equity category, an area that is rife with potential choices. China - Equity mutual funds almost exclusively target stocks throughout China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. China has changed drastically over the years, and even though we still associate the country's economy with export-focused manufacturing, it now focuses more than ever on its middle class. If you like the sounds of this investment method, then MCHFX could worth a closer look for your portfolio.
History of Fund/Manager
Matthews Asia is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of MCHFX. Matthews China Investor debuted in February of 1998. Since then, MCHFX has accumulated assets of about $284.09 million, according to the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. MCHFX has a 5-year annualized total return of -0.36% and is in the middle 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 -8.68%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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. Compared to the category average of 21.93%, the standard deviation of MCHFX over the past three years is 36.38%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 30.64% compared to the category average of 20.89%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.35, so it is likely going to be less volatile than the market at large. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -3.11, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, MCHFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.26% compared to the category average of 1.15%. MCHFX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
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
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Matthews China Investor ( MCHFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the China - Equity segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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.