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Matthews Emerging Markets Equity Fund
MEGMX

Snapshot
  • Portfolio construction incorporates a macroeconomic framework combined with fundamental analysis that drives stock selection
  • Dynamic portfolio exposure driven by a clear framework based on EPS growth and P/E analysis
  • Risk management controls overall beta exposure and key drivers of risk

04/30/2020

Inception Date

-0.08%

YTD Return

(as of 01/17/2025)

$13.05

NAV

(as of 01/17/2025)

+0.07

1 Day NAV Change

(as of 01/17/2025)

Objective

Long-term capital appreciation

Strategy

Under normal circumstances, the Matthews Emerging Markets Equity 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 emerging market countries. 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. The list of emerging market countries and frontier market countries may change from time to time. The Fund may also invest in companies located in developed countries; however, the Fund may not invest in any company located in a developed country if, at the time of purchase, more than 20% of the Fund’s assets are invested in developed market companies.

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.

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

Fund Facts
Inception Date 04/30/2020
Fund Assets $22.34 million (12/31/2024)
Currency USD
Ticker MEGMX
Cusip 577-130-651
Portfolio Turnover 26.4%
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 1.70%
Net Expense Ratio 1.12%

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 Equity Fund - MEGMX
04/30/2020
MEGMX
-2.16% -6.20% 11.13% 11.13% -1.61% n.a. n.a. 9.48%
MSCI Emerging Markets Index
-0.09% -7.84% 8.05% 8.05% -1.48% n.a. n.a. 6.29%
As of 12/31/2024
Average Annual Total Returns
Name 1MO 3MO YTD 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR Since Inception Inception Date
Matthews Emerging Markets Equity Fund - MEGMX
04/30/2020
MEGMX
-2.16% -6.20% 11.13% 11.13% -1.61% n.a. n.a. 9.48%
MSCI Emerging Markets Index
-0.09% -7.84% 8.05% 8.05% -1.48% n.a. n.a. 6.29%
For the years ended December 31st
Name 2024 2023 2022 2021
Matthews Emerging Markets Equity Fund - MEGMX
MEGMX
11.13% 8.43% -20.94% -0.60%
MSCI Emerging Markets Index (USD)
8.05% 10.27% -19.74% -2.22%

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

Year to Date and Since Inception performance with less than one year of history represents actual performance, not annualized.

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
  • 1 YEAR
  • 1st
  • 113 out of 762 funds
  • 3 YEAR
  • 2nd
  • 241 out of 688 funds
  • SINCE INCEPTION
  • 1st
  • 96 out of 647 funds

Ratings agency calculation methodology

Portfolio Managers

Sean  Taylor photo
Sean Taylor

Lead Manager

Alex  Zarechnak photo
Alex Zarechnak

Lead Manager

Andrew  Mattock, CFA photo
Andrew Mattock, CFA

Co-Manager

Peeyush  Mittal, CFA photo
Peeyush Mittal, CFA

Co-Manager

Jeremy  Sutch, CFA photo
Jeremy Sutch, CFA

Co-Manager

Portfolio Characteristics

(as of 12/31/2024)
Fund Benchmark
Number of Positions 75 1,252
Weighted Average Market Cap $196.8 billion $171.6 billion
Active Share 66.4 n.a.
P/E using FY1 estimates 13.8x 13.0x
P/E using FY2 estimates 12.7x 11.8x
Price/Cash Flow 8.0 8.5
Price/Book 2.3 1.8
Return On Equity 16.2 16.3
EPS Growth (3 Yr) 14.3% 17.3%

Sources: Factset Research Systems, Inc.

Top 10 Holdings

(as of 12/31/2024)
Name Sector Country % Net Assets
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Information Technology Taiwan 12.1
Tencent Holdings, Ltd. Communication Services China/Hong Kong 6.4
ICICI Bank, Ltd. Financials India 3.5
HDFC Bank, Ltd. Financials India 2.4
MediaTek, Inc. Information Technology Taiwan 2.3
SK Hynix, Inc. Information Technology South Korea 2.3
Zomato, Ltd. Consumer Discretionary India 2.3
Alibaba Group Holding, Ltd. Consumer Discretionary China/Hong Kong 2.0
Bharti Airtel, Ltd. Communication Services India 1.9
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Information Technology South Korea 1.8
TOTAL 37.0

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 12/31/2024)
  • Sector Allocation
  • Country Allocation
  • Market Cap Exposure
Sector Fund Benchmark Difference
Information Technology 30.5 24.3 6.2
Financials 25.5 23.7 1.8
Consumer Discretionary 13.6 13.1 0.5
Communication Services 10.6 9.4 1.2
Industrials 4.0 6.6 -2.6
Real Estate 3.6 1.7 1.9
Health Care 2.9 3.4 -0.5
Consumer Staples 2.0 4.8 -2.8
Energy 1.8 4.6 -2.8
Utilities 0.7 2.7 -2.0
Materials 0.0 5.7 -5.7
Cash and Other Assets, Less Liabilities 4.9 0.0 4.9

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 25.5 27.9 -2.4
Taiwan 24.1 19.6 4.5
India 21.6 19.4 2.2
South Korea 9.5 9.0 0.5
Brazil 2.4 4.1 -1.7
Indonesia 2.3 1.5 0.8
South Africa 2.1 2.9 -0.8
United Arab Emirates 1.6 1.4 0.2
Vietnam 1.6 0.0 1.6
Singapore 1.4 0.0 1.4
Philippines 1.3 0.5 0.8
Thailand 0.8 1.4 -0.6
Mexico 0.5 1.8 -1.3
United States 0.4 0.0 0.4
Saudi Arabia 0.0 4.2 -4.2
Malaysia 0.0 1.5 -1.5
Poland 0.0 0.8 -0.8
Qatar 0.0 0.8 -0.8
Kuwait 0.0 0.7 -0.7
Turkey 0.0 0.7 -0.7
Greece 0.0 0.5 -0.5
Chile 0.0 0.4 -0.4
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
Cash and Other Assets, Less Liabilities 4.9 0.0 4.9

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

Equity market cap of issuer Fund Benchmark Difference
Mega Cap (over $25B) 65.7 59.0 6.7
Large Cap ($10B-$25B) 19.3 21.3 -2.0
Mid Cap ($3B-$10B) 8.6 18.9 -10.3
Small Cap (under $3B) 1.5 0.9 0.6
Cash and Other Assets, Less Liabilities 4.9 0.0 4.9

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.

Risk Metrics (3 Yr Return)

(as of 12/31/2024)
-0.39%
Alpha
0.93
Beta
92.88%
Upside Capture
96.13%
Downside Capture
-0.32
Sharpe Ratio
-0.02
Information Ratio
6.38%
Tracking Error
87.49

Fund Risk Metrics are reflective of Investor share class.

Sources: Zephyr StyleADVISOR

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 $0.12024 $0.00000 $0.00000 $0.12024 0.9% N.A.
12/13/2023 12/14/2023 $0.21539 $0.00000 $0.00000 $0.21539 1.8% N.A.
12/13/2022 12/14/2022 $0.20142 $0.00000 $0.00000 $0.20142 1.7% N.A.
12/14/2021 12/15/2021 $0.18047 $0.68627 $0.43302 $1.29976 8.5% N.A.
12/15/2020 12/16/2020 $0.00000 $0.35583 $0.00000 $0.35583 2.3% 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 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 Equity Fund returned 11.13%, (Investor Class) and 11.38% (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 China/Hong Kong due to stock selection, Vietnam due to an off-benchmark allocation and Taiwan due to stock selection. The top three detractors were Mexico, Philippines and Indonesia due to stock selection.
  • On a sector basis, the top three contributors to relative performance were consumer discretionary, communication services and information technology (IT) due to stock selection. The top three detractors were financials, energy and industrials due to stock selection.
  • The top three contributors to absolute performance included Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), a leading Taiwanese chipmaker, Tencent Holdings, a Chinese online gaming and social media conglomerate, and Meituan, China’s largest food delivery service and internet platform company. The largest detractors included Samsung Electronics, a South Korean semiconductor and consumer electronics maker, Globant, an Argentinian IT and software development company, and Prologis Property Mexico, a Mexican real estate developer.

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.

 

Top 10 holdings as of December 31, 2024. Current and future holdings are subject to change and risk.

 

Average Annual Total Returns - MEGMX as of 12/31/2024
1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR Since Inception Inception Date
11.13% -1.61% N.A. N.A. 9.48% 04/30/2020

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 1.70%
Net Expense Ratio 1.12%

Matthews has contractually agreed to waive fees and reimburse expenses to limit the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses until April 30, 2025. Please see the Fund’s prospectus for additional details.

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.

 

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.