Matthews Asia has renamed its $565m (£471.3m) ex Japan dividend fund to the Matthews Asia ex Japan Total Return Equity fund to better reflect the strategy’s objective.
The fund seeks to generate total return through capital appreciation and current income by investing in companies that pay a steady or growing dividend.
Matthews Asia confirmed that the investment philosophy, process, and management fees will all remain the same.
Its largest holdings include Tencent, Samsung and AIA.
Since launch in November 2015, the strategy has outperformed its MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan benchmark by 3.8% a year on average, while its average annual return is 10.5%.
Matthews Asia ex Japan Total Return Equity yearly performance
| Name | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthews Asia ex Japan Total Return Equity Fund (USD) | -26.05% | 3.96% | 51.86% | 16.73% | -12.37% |
| MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index (USD) | -19.36% | -4.46% | 25.36% | 18.52% | -14.12% |
Co-lead portfolio manager Kenneth Lowe said: “Dividends continue to comprise a significant portion of long-term total return in Asian equities. With a benchmark-agnostic philosophy and an active, bottom-up approach to stock picking, we aim to offer investors a core Asia portfolio that can capture the region’s growth while also potentially mitigating some of its volatility.”
Neil Steedman, head of Emea and Asia distribution, added: “We are pleased that the new fund name reflects its impressive track record of generating attractive total return. The Matthews Asia ex Japan Total Return Equity fund offers differentiated exposure to one of the world’s fastest growing regions. Many of our existing clients use the fund as their core Asia equity solution and we believe the name change better reflects this.”
See also: Franklin Templeton and Matthews Asia funds lose Square Mile ratings
