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Matthews Asia Innovators Fund
MATFX

Snapshot
  • High-conviction, concentrated equity portfolio of innovative companies in Asia
  • All-cap fundamental approach focused on companies with unique offerings that create or expand markets
  • Capitalizing on the new economy and the rising disposable income in Asia

12/27/1999

Inception Date

26.37%

YTD Return

(as of 10/04/2024)

$14.04

NAV

(as of 10/04/2024)

+0.27

1 Day NAV Change

(as of 10/04/2024)

Objective

Long-term capital appreciation

Strategy

Under normal circumstances, the Matthews Asia Innovators Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets, which include borrowings for investment purposes, in the common and preferred stocks of companies located in Asia that Matthews believes are innovators in their products, services, processes, business models, management, use of technology, or approach to creating, expanding or servicing their markets. The Fund seeks to invest in companies capable of sustainable growth based on the fundamental characteristics of those companies, including balance sheet information; number of employees; size and stability of cash flow; management’s depth, adaptability and integrity; product lines; marketing strategies; corporate governance; and financial health.

Risks

Investments in Asian securities may involve risks such as social and political instability, market illiquidity, exchange-rate fluctuations, a high level of volatility and limited regulation. Investing in emerging and frontier markets involves different and greater risks, as these countries are substantially smaller, less liquid and more volatile than securities markets in more developed markets. Sector funds may be subject to a higher degree of market risk than diversified funds because of a concentration in a specific sector. The Fund's value may be affected by changes in the science and technology-related industries.

These and other risks associated with investing in the Fund can be found in the prospectus.

Fund Facts
Inception Date 12/27/1999
Fund Assets $303.22 million (08/31/2024)
Currency USD
Ticker MATFX
Cusip 577-130-883
Portfolio Turnover 248.2%
Benchmark MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index
Geographic Focus Asia ex Japan - Consists of all countries and markets in Asia excluding Japan, but including all other developed, emerging, and frontier countries and markets in the Asian region
Fees & Expenses
Gross Expense Ratio 1.15%

Performance

  • Monthly
  • Quarterly
  • Calendar Year
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As of 08/31/2024
Average Annual Total Returns
Name 1MO 3MO YTD 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR Since Inception Inception Date
Matthews Asia Innovators Fund - MATFX
12/27/1999
MATFX
0.40% 3.80% 13.05% 14.29% -9.23% 8.92% 7.41% 4.61%
MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index
1.98% 6.32% 12.03% 16.13% -3.10% 5.53% 4.22% 5.79%
As of 06/30/2024
Average Annual Total Returns
Name 1MO 3MO YTD 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR Since Inception Inception Date
Matthews Asia Innovators Fund - MATFX
12/27/1999
MATFX
5.46% 7.14% 14.85% 15.48% -11.12% 8.42% 7.88% 4.71%
MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index
4.32% 7.30% 9.92% 13.27% -5.44% 3.84% 4.49% 5.75%
For the years ended December 31st
Name 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
Matthews Asia Innovators Fund - MATFX
MATFX
-1.77% -24.80% -13.10% 86.72% 29.60% -18.62% 52.88% -9.10% 4.48% 9.24%
MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index (USD)
6.34% -19.36% -4.46% 25.36% 18.52% -14.12% 42.08% 5.76% -8.90% 5.11%

MSCI AC Asia Ex Japan Index since inception value calculated from 12/31/99.

Source: BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. All performance is in US$.

Assumes reinvestment of all dividends and/or distributions before taxes. All performance quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate with market conditions so that when redeemed, shares may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the return figures quoted. Returns would have been lower if certain of the Fund’s fees and expenses had not been waived. Performance differences between the Institutional class and the Investor class may arise due to differences in fees charged to each class.

Additional performance, attribution, liquidity, value at risk (VaR), security classification and holdings information is available on request for certain time periods.

Growth of a Hypothetical $10,000 Investment Since Inception

(as of 06/30/2024)

Source: BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. All performance is in US$.

The performance data and graph do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on dividends, capital gain distributions or redemption of fund shares.

Ratings

  • OVERALL
  • out of 47 funds
  • 3 YEAR
  • out of 47 funds
  • 5 YEAR
  • out of 46 funds
  • 10 YEAR
  • out of 35 funds
  • 1 YEAR
  • 1st
  • 4 out of 39 funds
  • 3 YEAR
  • 4th
  • 33 out of 38 funds
  • 5 YEAR
  • 1st
  • 2 out of 37 funds
  • 10 YEAR
  • 1st
  • 2 out of 26 funds
  • SINCE INCEPTION
  • 4th
  • 7 out of 8 funds

Ratings agency calculation methodology

Portfolio Managers

Michael J. Oh, CFA photo
Michael J. Oh, CFA

Lead Manager

Inbok  Song photo
Inbok Song

Co-Manager

Portfolio Characteristics

(as of 06/30/2024)
Fund Benchmark
Number of Positions 52 1,131
Weighted Average Market Cap $194.4 billion $169.5 billion
Active Share 64.5 n.a.
P/E using FY1 estimates 19.9x 13.8x
P/E using FY2 estimates 15.8x 12.0x
Price/Cash Flow 15.1 8.9
Price/Book 3.5 1.8
Return On Equity 16.4 15.0
EPS Growth (3 Yr) 22.9% 14.0%

Sources: Factset Research Systems, Inc.

Risk Metrics (3 Yr Return)

(as of 06/30/2024)
-4.07%
Alpha
1.15
Beta
106.28%
Upside Capture
118.23%
Downside Capture
-0.59
Sharpe Ratio
-0.56
Information Ratio
10.20%
Tracking Error
83.88

Fund Risk Metrics are reflective of Investor share class.

Sources: Zephyr StyleADVISOR

Top 10 Holdings

(as of 08/31/2024)
Name Sector Country % Net Assets
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Information Technology Taiwan 12.2
Tencent Holdings, Ltd. Communication Services China/Hong Kong 5.2
Sea, Ltd. Communication Services Singapore 4.9
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Information Technology South Korea 4.8
Zomato, Ltd. Consumer Discretionary India 4.8
Alibaba Group Holding, Ltd. Consumer Discretionary China/Hong Kong 3.7
MakeMyTrip, Ltd. Consumer Discretionary India 2.6
Meituan Class B Consumer Discretionary China/Hong Kong 2.5
Reliance Industries, Ltd. Energy India 2.4
Computer Age Management Services, Ltd. Industrials India 2.4
TOTAL 45.5

Top 10 holdings may combine more than one security from the same issuer and related depositary receipts.

Source: BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.

Portfolio Breakdown (%)

(as of 06/30/2024)
  • Sector Allocation
  • Country Allocation
  • Market Cap Exposure
Sector Fund Benchmark Difference
Information Technology 39.7 28.5 11.2
Consumer Discretionary 21.4 13.1 8.3
Communication Services 12.7 9.5 3.2
Industrials 8.7 7.5 1.2
Financials 7.6 20.3 -12.7
Energy 2.8 4.0 -1.2
Real Estate 2.3 2.2 0.1
Health Care 2.1 3.2 -1.1
Materials 0.0 4.7 -4.7
Consumer Staples 0.0 4.0 -4.0
Utilities 0.0 2.9 -2.9
Cash and Other Assets, Less Liabilities 2.7 0.0 2.7

Sector data based on MSCI’s revised Global Industry Classification Standards. For more details, visit www.msci.com.

Country Fund Benchmark Difference
China/Hong Kong 28.9 33.1 -4.2
India 24.6 21.9 2.7
Taiwan 21.8 22.0 -0.2
South Korea 12.5 13.9 -1.4
Singapore 4.6 3.4 1.2
Japan 2.1 0.0 2.1
Brazil 1.1 0.0 1.1
Netherlands 1.1 0.0 1.1
Vietnam 0.6 0.0 0.6
Indonesia 0.0 1.8 -1.8
Malaysia 0.0 1.6 -1.6
Thailand 0.0 1.5 -1.5
Philippines 0.0 0.6 -0.6
Macau 0.0 0.2 -0.2
Cash and Other Assets, Less Liabilities 2.7 0.0 2.7

Not all countries are included in the benchmark index(es).

Equity market cap of issuer Fund Benchmark Difference
Mega Cap (over $25B) 70.3 62.5 7.8
Large Cap ($10B-$25B) 10.7 20.2 -9.5
Mid Cap ($3B-$10B) 11.9 16.7 -4.8
Small Cap (under $3B) 4.4 0.6 3.8
Cash and Other Assets, Less Liabilities 2.7 0.0 2.7

Source: FactSet Research Systems.

Percentage values in data are rounded to the nearest tenth of one percent, so the values may not sum to 100% due to rounding. Percentage values may be derived from different data sources and may not be consistent with other Fund literature.

Distributions

Record Date Ex, Pay and
Reinvest Date
Ordinary
Income
Short Term
Capital Gains
Long Term
Capital Gains
Total Distributions
Per Share
% of NAV Nondividend Distribution (Return of Capital)
12/13/2023 12/14/2023 $0.00018 $0.00000 $0.00000 $0.00018 0.0% N.A.
12/13/2022 12/14/2022 $0.00000 $0.00000 $3.00231 $3.00231 20.4% N.A.
12/14/2021 12/15/2021 $0.00000 $1.10849 $3.22827 $4.33676 18.4% N.A.
12/15/2020 12/16/2020 $0.00000 $0.13545 $0.31069 $0.44614 1.8% N.A.
12/16/2019 12/17/2019 $0.00000 $0.00000 $0.04272 $0.04272 0.3% N.A.

 

There is no guarantee that the Fund will pay or continue to pay distributions. 

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate with changing market conditions so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.

Commentary

Period ended June 30, 2024

Market Environment

  • Markets in the region performed largely in line with our expectations in the second quarter, with Taiwan, India and China delivering positive performances. Inflation on the whole is not as high as in developed markets and in the absence of rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve, a lot of positive performance was driven by fundamentals and earnings growth.
  • The expansion of the artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain, led by large U.S. tech firms, was a key theme. While a handful of high-profile American firms—the so-called ‘Magnificent Seven’—remain in the investor spotlight, it is the companies in the tech hubs of Taiwan and South Korea that are providing the infrastructure and hardware that is key to enabling their services.
  • Looking more closely at the region, Taiwan was driven by demand for hardware from the U.S. while South Korea experienced weakness in cyclical sectors and in certain areas—including electric vehicles (EV) and EV battery making—oversupply has hurt prices and equity performance.
  • Indian equities recovered from the market’s negative reaction to the election result when it became clear that Prime Minister Modi would form a coalition with allies after his party failed to win an outright majority. Indian local bonds also had their inaugural inclusion in the JPMorgan Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) index, which is expected to add significant foreign investor inflows in coming quarters. Chinese equities, meanwhile, performed well despite ongoing economic challenges. There were improvements in China’s offshore markets, notably on the revenue and cost efficiency side in larger sectors like digital and e-commerce.

Contributors and Detractors

  • For the quarter ended June 30, 2024, the Matthews Asia Innovators Fund returned 7.14%, (Investor Class) and 7.20% (Institutional Class) while its benchmark, the MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index, returned 7.30% over the same period.
  • On a country basis, the top three contributors to relative performance were Singapore and South Korea due to stock selection and Thailand due to zero allocation. The top three detractors were India due to stock selection, China/Hong Kong due to an underweight allocation and Netherlands due to an off-benchmark allocation.
  • On a sector basis, the top three contributors to relative performance were communication services and consumer discretionary due to stock selection and consumer staples due to zero allocation. The top three detractors were financials and energy due to stock selection and utilities due to zero allocation.
  • The largest contributors to absolute performance included Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), a leading Taiwanese chipmaker, Sea, a Singapore-based provider of PC and mobile digital content, and Tencent Holdings, a Chinese online gaming, and social media conglomerate. The top three detractors to performance included Alchip Technologies, a silicon design and manufacturing services provider, PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero), an Indonesian microfinance company, and Samsung SDI, a Korean battery manufacturing company.

Outlook

  • Post-COVID growth in the region is starting to come through, beginning with technology and semiconductor segments but also in ecommerce across markets. We think this trajectory will pave the way for consistent earnings growth over the next few years with more upside to equity performance driven by North Asia.
  • Markets in the region should also benefit from the onset of a monetary easing cycle in the U.S. and the decline in the value of the U.S. dollar that it would likely bring, in our view.
  • In Taiwan, we think there is a strong runway of AI and technology-related growth. In South Korea, growth may be more longer term as we see the components of a global technology ecosystem being built and the impact of capital reform initiatives beginning to take hold. It’s too early to say how AI will disrupt the consumer in Asia generally but right now demand for AI-related chips and server hardware is a real earnings and growth driver for the region.

 

View the Fund’s Top 10 holdings as of June 30, 2024. Current and future holdings are subject to change and risk.

Average Annual Total Returns - MATFX as of 06/30/2024
1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR Since Inception Inception Date
15.48% -11.12% 8.42% 7.88% 4.71% 12/27/1999

All performance quoted is past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate with changing market conditions so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the return figures quoted. Returns would have been lower if certain of the Fund's fees and expenses had not been waived. For the Fund's most recent month-end performance visit matthewsasia.com

Fees & Expenses
Gross Expense Ratio 1.15%

Investments in Asian securities may involve risks such as social and political instability, market illiquidity, exchange-rate fluctuations, a high level of volatility and limited regulation. Investing in emerging and frontier markets involves different and greater risks, as these countries are substantially smaller, less liquid and more volatile than securities markets in more developed markets. Sector funds may be subject to a higher degree of market risk than diversified funds because of a concentration in a specific sector. The Fund's value may be affected by changes in the science and technology-related industries.

 

Visit our Glossary of Terms page for definitions and additional information.

Index Definitions

The information contained herein has been derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate at the time of compilation, but no representation or warranty (express or implied) is made as to the accuracy or completeness of any of this information. Neither the funds nor the Investment Advisor accept any liability for losses either direct or consequential caused by the use of this information.

The views and opinions in the commentary were as of the report date, subject to change and may not reflect current views. They are not guarantees of performance or investment results and should not be taken as investment advice. Investment decisions reflect a variety of factors, and the managers reserve the right to change their views about individual stocks, sectors, and the markets at any time. As a result, the views expressed should not be relied upon as a forecast of the Fund's future investment intent. It should not be assumed that any investment will be profitable or will equal the performance of any securities or any sectors mentioned herein. The information does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any securities mentioned.