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Is Matthews China Investor (MCHFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the China - Equity category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that you should consider investigating is Matthews China Investor (MCHFX - Free Report) . MCHFX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), 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 be 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. The Matthews China Investor made its debut in February of 1998 and MCHFX has managed to accumulate roughly $327.45 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Winnie Chwang, has been in charge of the fund since April of 2014.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. MCHFX has a 5-year annualized total return of -4.68%, and is in the middle 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 4.09%, 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. The standard deviation of MCHFX over the past three years is 26.63% compared to the category average of 16.97%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 29.88% compared to the category average of 19.01%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.33, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -7.5. This means 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 and it has an expense ratio of 1.29%.
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 consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
With a rank of 'hold' we aren't getting a good signal one way or another on MCHFX. That is why it might be a good idea to consider other items, such as the fund's expense ratio of 1.29%, and how this compares to other potential options being considered for investment. If cheaper, it might make a decent choice, but a more expensive fund might be worth avoiding. Just make sure to pay attention to its rank in case it shifts in the near future.
This could just be the start of your research on MCHFX in the China - Equity category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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 China Investor (MCHFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the China - Equity category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that you should consider investigating is Matthews China Investor (MCHFX - Free Report) . MCHFX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), 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 be 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. The Matthews China Investor made its debut in February of 1998 and MCHFX has managed to accumulate roughly $327.45 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Winnie Chwang, has been in charge of the fund since April of 2014.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. MCHFX has a 5-year annualized total return of -4.68%, and is in the middle 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 4.09%, 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. The standard deviation of MCHFX over the past three years is 26.63% compared to the category average of 16.97%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 29.88% compared to the category average of 19.01%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.33, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -7.5. This means 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 and it has an expense ratio of 1.29%.
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 consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
With a rank of 'hold' we aren't getting a good signal one way or another on MCHFX. That is why it might be a good idea to consider other items, such as the fund's expense ratio of 1.29%, and how this compares to other potential options being considered for investment. If cheaper, it might make a decent choice, but a more expensive fund might be worth avoiding. Just make sure to pay attention to its rank in case it shifts in the near future.
This could just be the start of your research on MCHFX in the China - Equity category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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.