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Matthews Emerging Markets Sustainable Future Fund
MASGX

The Matthews Asia ESG Fund won the inaugural 2021 UNCTAD Sustainable Emerging Market Fund Award. Press Release. Methodology.

Formerly known as the Matthews Asia ESG Fund.

Snapshot
  • Unconstrained strategy focused on companies that make a positive environmental, social and economic impact in emerging markets
  • All-cap portfolio with diversified emerging and frontier market exposures
  • Deep bottom-up fundamental approach that seeks to generate attractive long-term risk-adjusted returns by investing in well-governed companies

04/30/2015

Inception Date

0.17%

YTD Return

(as of 01/17/2025)

$11.95

NAV

(as of 01/17/2025)

+0.10

1 Day NAV Change

(as of 01/17/2025)

Objective

Long-term capital appreciation

Strategy

Under normal circumstances, the Matthews Emerging Markets Sustainable Future 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 of any market capitalization located in emerging market countries that satisfy one or more of the Fund’s environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) standards. Emerging market countries generally include every country in the world except the United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and most of the countries in Western Europe. Certain emerging market countries may also be classified as “frontier” market countries, which are a subset of emerging market countries with newer or even less developed economies and markets, such as Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Risks

Investments in emerging and frontier securities may involve risks such as social and political instability, market illiquidity, exchange-rate fluctuations, a high level of volatility and limited regulation. Additionally, investing in emerging and frontier markets countries are substantially smaller, less liquid and more volatile than securities markets in more developed markets. Matthews Emerging Markets Sustainable Future Fund’s consideration of ESG factors in making its investment decisions may impact the Fund’s relative investment performance positively or negatively.

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

Fund Facts
Inception Date 04/30/2015
Fund Assets $213.01 million (12/31/2024)
Currency USD
Ticker MASGX
Cusip 577-130-727
Portfolio Turnover 49.2%
Benchmark MSCI Emerging Markets Index
Geographic Focus Emerging Markets - Countries generally include every country in the world except the United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and most of the countries in Western Europe
Fees & Expenses
Gross Expense Ratio 1.23%

Performance

  • Monthly
  • Quarterly
  • Calendar Year
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As of 12/31/2024
Average Annual Total Returns
Name 1MO 3MO YTD 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR Since Inception Inception Date
Matthews Emerging Markets Sustainable Future Fund - MASGX
04/30/2015
MASGX
-3.54% -12.19% -2.46% -2.46% -3.43% 7.53% n.a. 6.18%
MSCI Emerging Markets Index
-0.09% -7.84% 8.05% 8.05% -1.48% 2.10% n.a. 3.14%
As of 12/31/2024
Average Annual Total Returns
Name 1MO 3MO YTD 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR Since Inception Inception Date
Matthews Emerging Markets Sustainable Future Fund - MASGX
04/30/2015
MASGX
-3.54% -12.19% -2.46% -2.46% -3.43% 7.53% n.a. 6.18%
MSCI Emerging Markets Index
-0.09% -7.84% 8.05% 8.05% -1.48% 2.10% n.a. 3.14%
For the years ended December 31st
Name 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Matthews Emerging Markets Sustainable Future Fund - MASGX
MASGX
-2.46% 7.83% -14.38% 11.76% 42.87% 12.55% -9.73% 33.79% -1.40%
MSCI Emerging Markets Index (USD)
8.05% 10.27% -19.74% -2.22% 18.69% 18.88% -14.24% 37.75% 11.60%

Before July 29, 2022, the Fund was managed with a different investment strategy and may have achieved different performance results under its current investment strategy from the performance shown for periods before that date.

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 12/31/2024)

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 707 funds
  • 3 YEAR
  • out of 707 funds
  • 5 YEAR
  • out of 632 funds
  • 1 YEAR
  • 4th
  • 728 out of 762 funds
  • 3 YEAR
  • 3rd
  • 386 out of 688 funds
  • 5 YEAR
  • 1st
  • 23 out of 613 funds
  • SINCE INCEPTION
  • 1st
  • 4 out of 439 funds

Ratings agency calculation methodology

Portfolio Managers

Vivek  Tanneeru photo
Vivek Tanneeru

Lead Manager

Inbok  Song photo
Inbok Song

Co-Manager

Alex  Zarechnak photo
Alex Zarechnak

Co-Manager

Portfolio Characteristics

(as of 12/31/2024)
Fund Benchmark
Number of Positions 59 1,252
Weighted Average Market Cap $76.9 billion $171.6 billion
Active Share 91.5 n.a.
P/E using FY1 estimates 15.2x 13.0x
P/E using FY2 estimates 13.0x 11.8x
Price/Cash Flow 9.7 8.5
Price/Book 2.2 1.8
Return On Equity 12.9 16.3
EPS Growth (3 Yr) 23.2% 17.3%

Sources: Factset Research Systems, Inc.

Risk Metrics (3 Yr Return)

(as of 12/31/2024)
-1.37%
Alpha
1.05
Beta
101.13%
Upside Capture
107.10%
Downside Capture
-0.37
Sharpe Ratio
-0.24
Information Ratio
8.02%
Tracking Error
84.43

Fund Risk Metrics are reflective of Investor share class.

Sources: Zephyr StyleADVISOR

Top 10 Holdings

(as of 12/31/2024)
Name Sector Country % Net Assets
Meituan Class B Consumer Discretionary China/Hong Kong 7.0
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Information Technology Taiwan 6.5
Bandhan Bank, Ltd. Financials India 6.4
JD Health International, Inc. Consumer Staples China/Hong Kong 4.8
Legend Biotech Corp. Health Care China/Hong Kong 4.2
Full Truck Alliance Co., Ltd. Industrials China/Hong Kong 3.9
Shriram Finance, Ltd. Financials India 2.9
Nedbank Group, Ltd. Financials South Africa 2.8
Indus Towers, Ltd. Communication Services India 2.7
Micron Technology, Inc. Information Technology United States 2.5
TOTAL 43.7

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 12/31/2024)
  • Sector Allocation
  • Country Allocation
  • Market Cap Exposure
Sector Fund Benchmark Difference
Information Technology 24.7 24.3 0.4
Financials 21.7 23.7 -2.0
Consumer Discretionary 15.8 13.1 2.7
Industrials 15.2 6.6 8.6
Consumer Staples 7.0 4.8 2.2
Health Care 6.3 3.4 2.9
Communication Services 5.4 9.4 -4.0
Real Estate 3.4 1.7 1.7
Utilities 0.6 2.7 -2.1
Materials 0.3 5.7 -5.4
Energy 0.0 4.6 -4.6
Liabilities in Excess of Cash and Other Assets -0.4 0.0 -0.4

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 33.5 27.9 5.6
India 22.6 19.4 3.2
Taiwan 16.0 19.6 -3.6
Brazil 4.9 4.1 0.8
South Korea 4.3 9.0 -4.7
Poland 3.0 0.8 2.2
South Africa 2.8 2.9 -0.1
United States 2.5 0.0 2.5
Turkey 1.9 0.7 1.2
Indonesia 1.8 1.5 0.3
Romania 1.7 0.0 1.7
Vietnam 1.3 0.0 1.3
Saudi Arabia 1.1 4.2 -3.1
Philippines 1.0 0.5 0.5
Jordan 1.0 0.0 1.0
Bangladesh 0.6 0.0 0.6
Chile 0.2 0.4 -0.2
Mexico 0.0 1.8 -1.8
Malaysia 0.0 1.5 -1.5
Thailand 0.0 1.4 -1.4
United Arab Emirates 0.0 1.4 -1.4
Qatar 0.0 0.8 -0.8
Kuwait 0.0 0.7 -0.7
Greece 0.0 0.5 -0.5
Peru 0.0 0.3 -0.3
Hungary 0.0 0.2 -0.2
Colombia 0.0 0.1 -0.1
Czech Republic 0.0 0.1 -0.1
Egypt 0.0 0.1 -0.1
Liabilities in Excess of Cash and Other Assets -0.4 0.0 -0.4

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

Equity market cap of issuer Fund Benchmark Difference
Mega Cap (over $25B) 24.8 59.0 -34.2
Large Cap ($10B-$25B) 19.3 21.3 -2.0
Mid Cap ($3B-$10B) 30.6 18.9 11.7
Small Cap (under $3B) 25.7 0.9 24.8
Liabilities in Excess of Cash and Other Assets -0.4 0.0 -0.4

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.

Portfolio Breakdown benchmark reflects the MSCI Emerging Markets Index as of 6/30/23.

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)
12/17/2024 12/18/2024 $0.30741 $0.00000 $0.00000 $0.30741 2.4% N.A.
12/13/2023 12/14/2023 $0.25011 $0.17470 $0.51859 $0.94340 7.2% N.A.
12/13/2022 12/14/2022 $0.04203 $0.06010 $0.57198 $0.67411 4.9% N.A.
12/14/2021 12/15/2021 $0.00000 $0.70374 $0.64204 $1.34578 7.8% N.A.
12/15/2020 12/16/2020 $0.00950 $0.39961 $0.43641 $0.84552 6.0% 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 December 31, 2024

Market Environment

  • Emerging markets fared pretty well in 2024 but there were divergent trends within regions and between markets. Changing expectations for U.S. interest rates and a fluctuation in the U.S. dollar were big influencers as was the ongoing strength in the artificial intelligence (AI) space.
  • After a strong start, India’s market experienced a selloff when Prime Minister Modi failed to win a majority in the elections in June, but quickly recovered after Modi secured a ruling coalition with allies. Later in the year, the market experienced a small correction as economic expansion eased and there was a downgrade in earnings, particularly in the consumer space.
  • Taiwan's market powered through the year thanks to demand for its AI chips while South Korea was one of the biggest underperformers in emerging markets amid softening demand in the auto sector and a cyclical downturn in segments such as heavy industries. The market also experienced volatility after South Korea’s president briefly imposed martial law and then was impeached.
  • Chinese equities had a volatile start to the year and then rallied through the spring helped by government initiatives to support the property sector. The market sagged through the summer before surging in September as the government unveiled a broad package of stimulus measures aimed at kickstarting a recovery in the real estate market, lifting consumer confidence and improving liquidity in the stock market.
  • Latin America was a significant underperformer. Mexico experienced negative sentiment through most of the year in anticipation of, and then in response to, the election of Claudia Sheinbaum as president in June, and the potential impact her reform agenda may have on the private sector. In Brazil, equities underperformed and the Brazilian real declined as the central bank battled inflation and worries mounted over the government’s spending and fiscal management.

Contributors and Detractors

  • For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Matthews Emerging Markets Sustainable Future Fund returned -2.46%, (Investor Class) and -2.33% (Institutional Class) while its benchmark, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, returned 8.05% over the same period.
  • On a country basis, the top three contributors to relative performance were India due to stock selection, Mexico due to zero allocation and Saudi Arabia due to stock selection. The top three detractors were Taiwan, China/Hong Kong and Brazil due to stock selection.
  • On a sector basis, the top three contributors to relative performance were industrials and consumer discretionary due to stock selection and materials due to an underweight allocation. The top three detractors were information technology (IT), health care and financials due to stock selection.
  • The top three contributors to absolute performance included Meituan, China’s largest food delivery service and internet platform company, Shriram Finance, an Indian financial services provider, and Full Truck Alliance, a Chinese freight marketplace operator. The largest detractors included Bandhan Bank, an Indian commercial bank, YDUQS Participacoes, a Brazilian on-campus and distance-learning education company, and Legend Biotech, a global, commercial-stage biopharma company.

Outlook

  • A key narrative for emerging markets could be the scale of the impact of the new Trump administration. Its policies could support a higher dollar, U.S. Treasury yields and interest rates and it could also impose tariffs on countries including China and Mexico. At the same time, a Trump administration could also stoke a stronger U.S. economy and that’s good for global growth and for risk assets.
  • After the first quarter of 2025, provided there is more clarity on U.S. trade policy as well as from China on its fiscal plans to boost its lackluster economy and real estate sector, we think volatility may subside and the outlook for emerging markets will improve. Taiwan should continue to benefit from strong demand for AI-related chips while in India we are focused more on financials, large caps and companies with consistent earnings growth where expectations aren’t so high.
  • At the global macro level, we will likely continue to see Federal Reserve rate cuts. This may not be a clear tailwind for emerging markets but will be less of a headwind, in our view. At this juncture, we would say that a large component of returns from emerging markets in 2025 will be backloaded into the second half of the year.

 

View the Fund’s Top 10 holdings as of December 31, 2024. Current and future holdings are subject to change and risk.

Average Annual Total Returns - MASGX as of 12/31/2024
1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR Since Inception Inception Date
-2.46% -3.43% 7.53% N.A. 6.18% 04/30/2015

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 1.23%

Investments in emerging and frontier securities may involve risks such as social and political instability, market illiquidity, exchange-rate fluctuations, a high level of volatility and limited regulation. Additionally, investing in emerging and frontier markets countries are substantially smaller, less liquid and more volatile than securities markets in more developed markets. Matthews Emerging Markets Sustainable Future Fund’s consideration of ESG factors in making its investment decisions may impact the Fund’s relative investment performance positively or negatively.

 

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.