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Matthews China Innovators Fund
MCSMX

Formerly known as the China Small Companies Fund.

Snapshot
  • Seeks alpha in fast-growing innovative companies in China
  • Invests in industries that are leveraged to China’s increasingly innovative and dynamic economy driven by fast growing domestic consumer demand
  • Tilt towards higher value-added growth sectors benefiting from innovation and capital efficiency

05/31/2011

Inception Date

22.64%

YTD Return

(as of 07/20/2026)

$14.03

NAV

(as of 07/20/2026)

-0.27

1 Day NAV Change

(as of 07/20/2026)

Objective

Long-term capital appreciation.

Strategy

Under normal circumstances, the 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 China 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. China includes its administrative and other districts, such as Hong Kong. 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 markets involves different and greater risks, as these countries are substantially smaller, less liquid and more volatile than securities markets in more developed markets. In addition, because the fund concentrates its investments in a single-country, its share price may be more volatile, and more affected by political, economic and other events in the country in which it invests than that of funds that are not as geographically concentrated.

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

Fund Facts
Inception Date 05/31/2011
Fund Assets $109.50 million (06/30/2026)
Currency USD
Ticker MCSMX
Cusip 577-125-404
Benchmark MSCI China All Shares Index MSCI China IndexMSCI China Small Cap Index
Geographic Focus China - China includes its administrative and other districts, such as Hong Kong
Fees & Expenses
Gross Expense Ratio 1.57%
Net Expense Ratio 1.40%

Performance

  • Monthly
  • Quarterly
  • Calendar Year
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As of 06/30/2026
Average Annual Total Returns
Name 1MO 3MO YTD 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR Since Inception Inception Date
Matthews China Innovators Fund - MCSMX
05/31/2011
MCSMX
12.73% 46.06% 60.23% 87.43% 25.16% 0.57% 14.19% 8.83%
MSCI China All Shares Index
-3.06% 1.64% -4.98% 9.73% 10.26% -3.86% 5.03% n.a.
MSCI China Index
-7.05% -6.57% -14.92% -4.80% 7.96% -6.46% 4.50% 2.63%
MSCI China Small Cap Index
-9.93% -10.59% -13.41% -5.43% 4.51% -10.86% -0.51% -1.22%
As of 06/30/2026
Average Annual Total Returns
Name 1MO 3MO YTD 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR Since Inception Inception Date
Matthews China Innovators Fund - MCSMX
05/31/2011
MCSMX
12.73% 46.06% 60.23% 87.43% 25.16% 0.57% 14.19% 8.83%
MSCI China All Shares Index
-3.06% 1.64% -4.98% 9.73% 10.26% -3.86% 5.03% n.a.
MSCI China Index
-7.05% -6.57% -14.92% -4.80% 7.96% -6.46% 4.50% 2.63%
MSCI China Small Cap Index
-9.93% -10.59% -13.41% -5.43% 4.51% -10.86% -0.51% -1.22%
For the years ended December 31st
Name 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Matthews China Innovators Fund - MCSMX
MCSMX
28.83% 2.82% -17.51% -31.26% -3.59% 82.52% 35.41% -17.68% 53.88% -2.35%
MSCI China All Shares Index (USD)
29.22% 16.67% -11.35% -23.47% -12.80% 33.61% 27.87% -23.15% 41.43% -7.69%
MSCI China Index (USD)
31.43% 19.68% -11.04% -21.80% -21.64% 29.67% 23.66% -18.75% 54.33% 1.11%
MSCI China Small Cap Index (USD)
35.34% 6.82% -24.82% -24.77% -6.26% 27.21% 6.63% -19.53% 24.62% -5.95%
Effective April 30, 2026, in connection with changes to the Fund’s name from China Small Companies Fund to China Innovators Fund and principal investment strategies, the primary benchmark was changed from the MSCI China Small Cap Index to the MSCI China All Shares Index.

Unusually high returns may not be sustainable. 

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 06/30/2026)

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 70 funds
  • 3 YEAR
  • out of 70 funds
  • 5 YEAR
  • out of 60 funds
  • 10 YEAR
  • out of 37 funds

Ratings agency calculation methodology

Portfolio Managers

Tiffany  Hsiao, CFA photo

Portfolio Characteristics

(as of 06/30/2026)
Fund Benchmark
Number of Positions 46 576
Weighted Average Market Cap $30.7 billion $117.8 billion
Active Share 98.1 n.a.
P/E using FY1 estimates 26.0x 12.4x
P/E using FY2 estimates 21.1x 11.1x
Price/Cash Flow 29.5 8.2
Price/Book 6.3 1.6
Return On Equity 18.0 15.2
EPS Growth (3 Yr) 18.4% 17.7%

Sources: Factset Research Systems, Inc.

Risk Metrics (3 Yr Return)

(as of 06/30/2026)
15.44%
Alpha
0.94
Beta
116.24%
Upside Capture
62.24%
Downside Capture
0.77
Sharpe Ratio
0.85
Information Ratio
17.54%
Tracking Error
56.67

Fund Risk Metrics are reflective of Investor share class.

Source: FactSet Research Systems

Top 10 Holdings

(as of 06/30/2026)
Name Sector % Net Assets
Jiangsu Boqian New Materials Stock Co., Ltd. Materials 6.9
ACM Research, Inc. Information Technology 5.7
Acter Technology Integration Group Co., Ltd. Industrials 5.6
Kingboard Laminates Holdings, Ltd. Information Technology 4.9
Yantai Jereh Oilfield Services Group Co., Ltd. Energy 3.9
Beijing Huafeng Test & Control Technology Co., Ltd. Information Technology 3.8
ASMPT, Ltd. Information Technology 3.8
Wuxi NCE Power Co., Ltd. Information Technology 3.5
Hongfa Technology Co Ltd. Industrials 3.4
Time Interconnect Technology, Ltd. Industrials 3.2
TOTAL 44.7

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 06/30/2026)
  • Sector Allocation
  • Market Cap Exposure
  • China Exposure
Sector Fund Benchmark Difference
Information Technology 47.5 24.3 23.2
Industrials 24.5 9.5 15.0
Materials 8.2 7.8 0.4
Consumer Discretionary 5.5 14.2 -8.7
Energy 3.9 3.0 0.9
Health Care 1.7 4.4 -2.7
Real Estate 0.9 1.0 -0.1
Financials 0.0 18.2 -18.2
Communication Services 0.0 11.2 -11.2
Consumer Staples 0.0 4.1 -4.1
Utilities 0.0 2.3 -2.3
Cash and Other Assets, Less Liabilities 7.8 0.0 7.8

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

Equity market cap of issuer Fund Benchmark Difference
Mega Cap (over $25B) 25.1 66.9 -41.8
Large Cap ($10B-$25B) 28.6 21.3 7.3
Mid Cap ($3B-$10B) 28.9 11.7 17.2
Small Cap (under $3B) 9.6 0.2 9.4
Unassigned 0.0 0.0 0.0
Cash and Other Assets, Less Liabilities 7.8 0.0 7.8

The Portfolio’s market cap exposure breakdown presented is used for comparison purposes and the definition of the capitalization breakdown is from MSCI.

The Fund defines Small Companies as companies with market capitalization no higher than the greater of US$5 billion or the market capitalization of the largest company included in the Fund's primary benchmark, the MSCI China Small Cap Index.

China Exposure Portfolio Weight
Mainland China Listed Companies 44.9
Hong Kong Listed Companies 28.6
Other 16.5
ADR/GDR 2.3
Cash and Other Assets, Less Liabilities 7.8

Mainland China listed companies includes A Share and B Shares. A Shares are Mainland Chinese companies incorporated in China and listed on the Shanghai or Shenzhen exchanges, available mostly to local Chinese investors and qualified institutional investors. B Shares are mainland Chinese companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, available to both Chinese and non-Chinese investors. ADRs are American Depositary Receipts and GDRs are Global Depositary Receipts. Hong Kong Listed Companies include SAR (Hong Kong) companies, China-affiliated corporations, and H Shares. SAR companies are companies that conduct business in Hong Kong and/or mainland China. China-affiliated corporations [CAC], also known as "Red Chips," are mainland China companies with partial state ownership listed in Hong Kong, and incorporated in Hong Kong. H Shares are mainland Chinese companies listed on the Hong Kong exchange but incorporated in mainland China. Other represents Chinese companies listed in other countries or non-China companies with a majority of revenue coming from China such as Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and the United States or other non-China companies.

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)
12/16/2025 12/17/2025 $0.25489 $0.00000 $0.00000 $0.25489 2.2% N.A.
12/17/2024 12/18/2024 $0.12228 $0.00000 $0.00000 $0.12228 1.3% N.A.
12/13/2023 12/14/2023 $0.21127 $0.00000 $0.00000 $0.21127 2.4% N.A.
12/13/2022 12/14/2022 $0.19767 $0.00000 $0.00000 $0.19767 1.7% N.A.
12/14/2021 12/15/2021 $0.11673 $1.77913 $0.81209 $2.70795 14.0% 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, 2026

Market Environment

  • China’s market declined 6.6% in the second quarter. While export markets including industrials, materials, autos and electronics were strong, the overall economy slowed compared with the previous quarter, held back by weakness in domestic sectors.
  • Consumer confidence and spending were weak during the quarter, the labor market did not expand and the property sector continued to weigh on the economy. Financials was among the few sectors that provided reasonable returns for investors.
  • Other areas of China’s domestic economy that performed well were largely in segments related to artificial intelligence (AI) and technology, including semiconductors, robotics, high-tech manufacturing and infrastructure.

Contributors and Detractors

  • For the quarter ended June 30, 2026, the Matthews China Innovators Fund returned 46.06%, (Investor Class) and 46.13% (Institutional Class) while its benchmark, the MSCI China All Shares Index, returned 1.64% over the same period.
  • On a sector basis, the top three contributors to relative performance were information technology (IT) due to an overweight allocation, materials and industrials due to stock selection. The single detractor was health care due to stock selection.
  • The largest contributors to absolute performance included ACM Research, Inc., a semiconductor equipment company which provides gear to China’s foundries, Kingboard Laminates Holdings Ltd., a laminates and resin manufacturer, and Jiangsu Boqian New Materials Stock Co., a materials supplier for electronic components. The top three detractors included Wasion Holdings Ltd., an IT company, Kingsoft Cloud Holdings Ltd. an IT company, and Duality Biotherapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company.

Outlook

  • Select segments of China’s domestic economy, including AI, power infrastructure and energy generation, are thriving. These businesses are rapidly expanding, serving both domestic demand and other Asia markets, and the area of technology advancement and competitive advantage has the explicit support of the Chinese government.
  • We are also beginning to see the hyperscaler trend similar to that of the U.S. but on a smaller scale. We view this as a positive, structural, long-term theme and an area where pure-play China internet strategies and broader, passive index strategies may have limited exposure in the early phase.
  • Outside of select and specific areas of growth, China’s equity market remains challenged and subject to mixed sentiment attributable to weak consumer confidence, the ongoing intervention of regulators in certain sectors, and limited prospects of any wide-ranging government stimulus. That’s said, such is the depth and breadth of China’s markets we remain positive on the potential for active stock picking.

View the Fund's Top 10 holdings as of June 30, 2026. Current and future holdings are subject to change and risk.

Average Annual Total Returns - MCSMX as of 06/30/2026
1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR Since Inception Inception Date
87.43% 25.16% 0.57% 14.19% 8.83% 05/31/2011

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 1.57%
Net Expense Ratio 1.40%

Matthews has contractually agreed to waive fees and reimburse expenses to limit the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses until April 30, 2027. Please see the Fund’s prospectus for additional details.

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 markets involves different and greater risks, as these countries are substantially smaller, less liquid and more volatile than securities markets in more developed markets. In addition, because the fund concentrates its investments in a single-country, its share price may be more volatile, and more affected by political, economic and other events in the country in which it invests than that of funds that are not as geographically concentrated.

 

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.