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Is Matthews Asia Innovators Investor (MATFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If investors are looking at the Sector - Tech fund category, make sure to pass over Matthews Asia Innovators Investor (MATFX - Free Report) . MATFX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that MATFX is a Sector - Tech option, and this area is loaded with many options. Found in a wide number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, and networking, tech companies are everywhere. Thus, Sector - Tech mutual funds that invest in technology let investors own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector, but with a much more diversifies approach.
History of Fund/Manager
Matthews Asia is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of MATFX. The Matthews Asia Innovators Investor made its debut in December of 1999 and MATFX has managed to accumulate roughly $163.43 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. J. Michael Oh is the fund's current manager and has held that role since January of 2006.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 7.14%, 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 -0.28%, which places it in the middle 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. MATFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 23% compared to the category average of 17.65%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 24.15% compared to the category average of 18.23%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. MATFX has a 5-year beta of 0.66, which means it 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -2.53. This means that 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, MATFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.28% compared to the category average of 1.10%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, MATFX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Matthews Asia Innovators Investor ( MATFX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about MATFX? 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. 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.
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Is Matthews Asia Innovators Investor (MATFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Sector - Tech fund category, make sure to pass over Matthews Asia Innovators Investor (MATFX - Free Report) . MATFX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that MATFX is a Sector - Tech option, and this area is loaded with many options. Found in a wide number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, and networking, tech companies are everywhere. Thus, Sector - Tech mutual funds that invest in technology let investors own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector, but with a much more diversifies approach.
History of Fund/Manager
Matthews Asia is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of MATFX. The Matthews Asia Innovators Investor made its debut in December of 1999 and MATFX has managed to accumulate roughly $163.43 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. J. Michael Oh is the fund's current manager and has held that role since January of 2006.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 7.14%, 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 -0.28%, which places it in the middle 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. MATFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 23% compared to the category average of 17.65%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 24.15% compared to the category average of 18.23%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. MATFX has a 5-year beta of 0.66, which means it 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -2.53. This means that 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, MATFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.28% compared to the category average of 1.10%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, MATFX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Matthews Asia Innovators Investor ( MATFX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about MATFX? 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. 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.