TOP

Matthews Asia Dividend Fund
MAPIX

Snapshot
  • Total return strategy seeks to access the growth of Asia Pacific with lower volatility
  • Unconstrained all-cap portfolio with a quality bias
  • Flexible approach offers participation in both growth and value markets

10/31/2006

Inception Date

0.53%

YTD Return

(as of 03/22/2023)

$13.31

NAV

(as of 03/22/2023)

+0.05

1 Day NAV Change

(as of 03/22/2023)

Objective

Total return with an emphasis on providing current income.

Strategy

Under normal circumstances, the Matthews Asia Dividend Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets, which include borrowings for investment purposes, in dividend-paying equity securities of companies located in Asia. The Fund may also invest in convertible debt and equity securities. The Fund seeks to provide a level of current income that is higher than the yield generally available in Asian equity markets over the long term.

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. There is no guarantee that the Fund or the companies in its portfolio will pay or continue to pay dividends.

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

Fund Facts
Inception Date 10/31/2006
Fund Assets $1.74 billion (02/28/2023)
Currency USD
Ticker MAPIX
Cusip 577-125-107
Portfolio Turnover 50.8%
Benchmark MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index
Geographic Focus Asia - Consists of all countries and markets in Asia, including developed, emerging, and frontier countries and markets in the Asian region
Fees & Expenses
Gross Expense Ratio 1.03%
Net Expense Ratio 1.02%

Performance

  • Monthly
  • Quarterly
  • Calendar Year
  • data_graph_selected Created with Sketch.
  • bar_graph_selected Created with Sketch.
As of 02/28/2023
Average Annual Total Returns
Name 1MO 3MO YTD 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR Since Inception Inception Date
Matthews Asia Dividend Fund - MAPIX
10/31/2006
MAPIX
-7.45% -1.21% 0.45% -21.22% -0.50% -2.59% 3.03% 6.14%
MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index
-5.84% 1.35% 1.57% -10.80% 3.12% 0.35% 4.32% 3.78%
As of 12/31/2022
Average Annual Total Returns
Name 1MO 3MO YTD 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR Since Inception Inception Date
Matthews Asia Dividend Fund - MAPIX
10/31/2006
MAPIX
-1.66% 5.21% -29.57% -29.57% -3.52% -2.71% 3.48% 6.18%
MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index
-0.21% 12.52% -16.92% -16.92% -0.48% 0.47% 4.64% 3.72%
For the years ended December 31st
Name 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Matthews Asia Dividend Fund - MAPIX
MAPIX
-29.57% -2.83% 31.25% 11.17% -12.72% 34.69% 4.13% 3.86% -0.32% 11.27%
MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index
-16.92% -1.19% 20.07% 19.74% -13.25% 32.04% 5.21% -1.68% 0.29% 12.19%

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 12/31/2022)

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.

Yield

(as of 12/31/2022)
1.74% 30-Day SEC Yield
1.74% 30-Day SEC Yield (excluding expense waiver)
1.93% Dividend Yield

30-Day SEC Yield Source: BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.

Ratings

  • OVERALL
  • out of 10 funds
  • 3 YEAR
  • out of 10 funds
  • 5 YEAR
  • out of 10 funds
  • 1 YEAR
  • 4th
  • 98 out of 99 funds
  • 3 YEAR
  • 4th
  • 90 out of 95 funds
  • 5 YEAR
  • 4th
  • 87 out of 89 funds
  • 10 YEAR
  • 2nd
  • 28 out of 55 funds
  • SINCE INCEPTION
  • 1st
  • 1 out of 22 funds

Ratings agency calculation methodology

Portfolio Managers

Robert J. Horrocks, PhD photo
Kenneth  Lowe, CFA photo
Kenneth Lowe, CFA

Lead Manager

Elli  Lee photo
Elli Lee

Co-Manager

Siddharth  Bhargava photo
Siddharth Bhargava

Co-Manager

Winnie  Chwang photo
Winnie Chwang

Co-Manager

Portfolio Characteristics

(as of 12/31/2022)
Fund Benchmark
Number of Positions 51 1,488
Weighted Average Market Cap $53.0 billion $77.4 billion
Active Share 88.2 n.a.
P/E using FY1 estimates 16.3x 12.1x
P/E using FY2 estimates 14.3x 12.1x
Price/Cash Flow 11.7 7.3
Price/Book 2.2 1.4
Return On Equity 16.3 14.5
EPS Growth (3 Yr) 14.6% 7.6%

Sources: Factset Research Systems, Inc.

Risk Metrics (3 Yr Return)

(as of 12/31/2022)
-2.94%
Alpha
0.95
Beta
94.33%
Upside Capture
106.86%
Downside Capture
-0.22
Sharpe Ratio
-0.43
Information Ratio
7.07%
Tracking Error
86.26

Fund Risk Metrics are reflective of Investor share class.

Sources: Zephyr StyleADVISOR

Top 10 Holdings

(as of 02/28/2023)
Name Sector Country % Net Assets
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Information Technology Taiwan 3.9
Minth Group, Ltd. Consumer Discretionary China/Hong Kong 3.7
UNO Minda, Ltd. Consumer Discretionary India 3.1
Tencent Holdings, Ltd. Communication Services China/Hong Kong 2.7
AIA Group, Ltd. Financials China/Hong Kong 2.1
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Information Technology South Korea 2.0
Treasury Wine Estates, Ltd. Consumer Staples Australia 1.9
Housing Development Finance Corp., Ltd. Financials India 1.9
PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Persero Tbk Financials Indonesia 1.9
KATITAS Co., Ltd. Real Estate Japan 1.8
TOTAL 25.0

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 12/31/2022)
  • Sector Allocation
  • Country Allocation
  • Asset Type Breakdown
  • Market Cap Exposure
Sector Fund Benchmark Difference
Consumer Discretionary 31.3 14.7 16.6
Industrials 13.4 11.5 1.9
Information Technology 12.8 16.3 -3.5
Communication Services 9.8 8.6 1.2
Financials 8.7 19.8 -11.1
Real Estate 7.6 3.9 3.7
Health Care 7.4 6.8 0.6
Consumer Staples 6.5 5.8 0.7
Materials 1.5 7.4 -5.9
Energy 1.4 3.1 -1.7
Utilities 0.0 2.3 -2.3
Liabilities in Excess of Cash and Other Assets -0.3 0.0 -0.3

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 29.7 25.1 4.6
Japan 25.3 31.6 -6.3
Vietnam 11.5 0.0 11.5
Australia 8.5 11.4 -2.9
India 8.3 9.2 -0.9
Singapore 3.9 2.2 1.7
Taiwan 3.3 8.7 -5.4
South Korea 3.3 7.2 -3.9
Indonesia 2.0 1.2 0.8
Thailand 1.9 1.4 0.5
Philippines 1.4 0.5 0.9
Bangladesh 1.1 0.0 1.1
Malaysia 0.0 1.0 -1.0
New Zealand 0.0 0.3 -0.3
Liabilities in Excess of Cash and Other Assets -0.3 0.0 -0.3

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

Asset Type Fund
Common Equities and ADRs 98.9
Preferred Equities 1.5
Liabilities in Excess of Cash and Other Assets -0.3
Equity market cap of issuer Fund Benchmark Difference
Mega Cap (over $25B) 28.9 56.8 -27.9
Large Cap ($10B-$25B) 14.8 23.2 -8.4
Mid Cap ($3B-$10B) 35.6 19.1 16.5
Small Cap (under $3B) 21.0 0.9 20.1
Liabilities in Excess of Cash and Other Assets -0.3 0.0 -0.3

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)
12/13/2022 12/14/2022 $0.00642 $0.00000 $0.00000 $0.00642 0.0% N.A.
09/27/2022 09/28/2022 $0.01921 $0.00000 $0.00000 $0.01921 0.1% N.A.
06/27/2022 06/28/2022 $0.03551 $0.00000 $0.00000 $0.03551 0.2% N.A.
03/28/2022 03/29/2022 $0.05027 $0.00000 $0.00000 $0.05027 0.3% N.A.
View History

 

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 December 31, 2022

For the year ending December 31, 2022, the Matthews Asia Dividend Fund returned -29.57% (Investor Class) and -29.55% (Institutional Class), while its benchmark, the MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index, returned -16.92% over the same period. For the fourth quarter of the year, the Matthews Asia Dividend Fund returned 5.21% (Investor Class) and 5.21% (Institutional Class), while the benchmark returned 12.52%.

Market Environment:

2022 was a painful year for investors in Asian equities due to a combination of the negative effects from rising inflation in the Western world and China’s continued restrictive zero-COVID policy. Earlier in the year, China’s equities received support amid indications Beijing was easing back on its regulatory interventions in the technology and consumer internet markets only for them to fall on concerns over an economic slowdown caused by the government’s implementation of its zero-COVID strategy.

In the last two quarters, the portfolio has been hurt by its exposure to the Vietnamese market. This was triggered by two events: firstly, rising U.S. interest rates have placed real pressure on the Vietnamese dong and secondly, and more significantly, the Vietnamese government launched an anti-corruption investigation into fraudulent corporate activities within the real estate sector. Both led to greater risk aversion in the marketplace.

India is a different story. While there are good quality businesses in the country, valuation multiples are among the highest in Asia which have led us to being more cautious and selective in our exposure. These different market dynamics within Asia have all been set against a macroeconomic backdrop where U.S. Fed policy has influenced not only Asian but global markets in general.

Performance Contributors and Detractors:

From a country perspective, China/Hong Kong was a large detractor to performance during 2022. Chinese equities broadly have been hurt by the significant economic impact of the government’s zero-COVID policy. The negative impact of the zero-COVID approach on performance was mitigated in the fourth quarter when the government abruptly scrapped the policy. Ultimately, our stock selection in Japan was the biggest detractor in the year. Vietnam also detracted after the government-led probe into the real estate sector triggered a sharp selloff in the market. On the other hand, our underweight in South Korea was a positive contributor to performance, as was our stock selection in Singapore and Indonesia.

From a sector perspective, consumer discretionary-stock selection detracted the most from relative performance. Meanwhile, our allocation and stock selection in information technology was a contributor to relative performance.

At the holdings level, Hoa Phat Group, a Vietnamese materials company, was the biggest detractor to performance as the company's profit margins were hurt by surging input material costs while the finished steel products' selling price suffered from oversupply. On the other hand, Kyoritsu Maintenance, a Japanese consumer-discretionary stock, was a top contributor. The company operates one of the largest budget hotel chains in Japan and as the country has moved toward a full post-COVID re-opening the boom in inbound travelers bodes well for Kyoritsu's recovery.

Notable Portfolio Changes:

In the last quarter, we initiated positions in Mingyue Optical Lens and Milkyway Chemical Supply, two China A-share stocks with strong earnings and dividend growth prospects, in our view. We also added a position in West Japan Railway, a Japanese transportation business which we see as well positioned to benefit from the potential tourism recovery. We reduced positions last year in areas such as financials and materials as inflation and rate-hike expectations started to show signs of peaking out and these have been key share-performance drivers for cyclical businesses in these sectors. We also increased exposure to so-called “re-opening” businesses across Asia as the region has decidedly moved toward living with COVID.

Outlook:

China’s sudden abandonment of its zero-COVID policy is creating significant disruption to its growth in the near term but it is also setting up the Chinese economy to bounce back strongly once the surge in COVID rates starts to abate. Chinese equities remain quite attractively priced even after the recent market rally. In Japan, a potential change of the ultra-monetary easing policy could also yield significant investment implications including for interest-rate sensitive businesses and currency-sensitive businesses. Elsewhere, the Vietnam equity market has started to show early signs of stabilization as policymakers have started to address the short-term liquidity crunch in the property sector. The structural growth tailwind for the Vietnamese economy, in our view, remains intact.

Overall, we believe Asia remains an excellent growth market. With the growth outlook for developed economies remaining quite uncertain at this moment, the Asian economy and its equity markets could be a potential bright spot for 2023.

Top 10 holdings as of December 31, 2022. Current and future holdings are subject to change and risk.

Average Annual Total Returns - MAPIX as of 12/31/2022
1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR Since Inception Inception Date
-29.57% -3.52% -2.71% 3.48% 6.18% 10/31/2006

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. Please see the Fund's most recent month-end performance.

Fees & Expenses
Gross Expense Ratio 1.03%
Net Expense Ratio 1.02%

Matthews has contractually agreed to waive fees and reimburse expenses to limit the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses until April 30, 2023. Please see the Fund’s prospectus for additional details.

Yields as of 12/31/2022
30-Day SEC Yield 1.74%
30-Day SEC Yield (excluding expense waiver) 1.74%
Dividend Yield 1.93%

The 30-Day SEC Yield represents net investment income earned by the Fund over the 30-day period ended 12/31/2022, expressed as an annual percentage rate based on the Fund’s share price at the end of the 30-day period. The 30-Day SEC Yield should be regarded as an estimate of the Fund’s rate of investment income, and it may not equal the Fund’s actual income distribution rate. Source: BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.

Dividend Yield (trailing) is the weighted average sum of the dividends paid by each equity security held by the Fund over the last 12 months divided by the current price as of report date. The annualised dividend yield is for the equity-only portion of the Fund and does not reflect the actual yield an investor in the Fund would receive. There can be no guarantee that companies that the Fund invests in, and which have historically paid dividends, will continue to pay them or to pay them at the current rates in the future. A positive distribution yield does not imply positive return, and past yields are no guarantee of future yields.

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. There is no guarantee that the Fund or the companies in its portfolio will pay or continue to pay dividends.

There is no guarantee that a company will pay or continue to increase dividends. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

 

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.